Dragon's Stigma
by Marcruz
Summary: Spike has some abnormal changes in his body, by pure coincidence Princess Celestia calls Twilight to the castle to meet important people, however, The Princess might not be saying all there is to it. What is Spike's heritage really about?
1. A dragon's history

Author's Note: Due to conflicts with the cannon story of season 4, I would like to clarify that this fanfiction was started while I was half way through season 2. Thus, I will briefly mention the episode "Secret to my Excess" and and none of season 3 finale plus what proceeds it, since they were not in my mind when I first began the story.

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The sun began to rise slowly over Ponyville. The warm rays of light gently rose upon Twilight's face through the large circular window next to her bed. Her eyes slowly opened. She gave out a small cute yawn as she stretched her legs out, pulling the cover from off of her by accident. Her purple coat was displaced out right, showing off her cutie mark, a spiky geometric figure to represent a sparkle, after her own name no doubt. Slowly she got up and looked over at her assistant, a baby dragon named Spike under his covers. It's only natural for her to get up first. Despite how helpful he is around the library and in everyday activities, he acted much more "mature" for his age. Speaking of mature, it looked almost as if Spike was getting too big for his bed, maybe he's starting to grow.

She slowly got up and walked over to her mirror, where she saw how messy her hair was. She giggled slightly at herself and shock her head to have her mane reveal her lovely unicorn horn. It began to glow and a brush on the dresser levitated. She proceeded to comb out her messy mane back into the tidy style she always has. She turned around and again her horn glowed. This time it was her sheets that levitated. She neatly made her bed before going downstairs to her kitchen where she proceeded to make breakfast.

Twilight hummed to herself as he prepared a small meal for two. Spike probably wouldn't wake up anytime soon, but it was best to get his food ready anyway. She continued to hum to herself while, unknowing to her, Spike come from upstairs, quite literally. He had jumped down from the second floor and softly landed on the wood floor. He proceeded to walked over to the fridge. As luck would have it, twilight opened it behind her back and took out some daisies for the meal. Spike reached into the fridge and grabbed the orange juice carton just in time before Twilight closed the fridge.

Gaining momentum in her breakfast preparations Twilight started to sing out an old lullaby from her fillyhood. Spike, orange juice in hand, now had to get a glass for it. He took a small hop and he levitated up high to reach the cupboard above the sink. As he did, Twilight turned around and looked for utensils. Spike, still in midair, took a minute to open the cabinet and grab a glass cup to pour his juice into before closing the cabinet and coming back down just as Twilight turned back around.

"Perhaps I made too much..." She said to herself as she looked at Spike's plate. She shrugged and slide some onto another plate. The fridge magically opened again for Twilight to put the extra in. Spike placed the orange juice in the fridge, and without skipping a beat, grabbed the plate of food that Twilight was putting in. Smiling as she gazed at her own work, Twilight glanced to her left to look at the clock. Spike, walked out back through the open door he came in from. The clock being in the opposite direction of the door, never saw or heard Spike, however as he stepped out of the kitchen, the wooden panel he was on squeaked. Twilight, startled, turned fast just in time to see Spike extend his wings and propel himself up, back to second floor. The purple pony's eyes widen and she gasped.

"Spike? Spike?!" She exclaimed as she ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs. There he was though. She wasn't seeing things. Spike was sitting on his bed eating the food she had made half asleep. His wings out in plain sight.

"Spike!" She shouted at him, waking him from his trancelike state.  
"W-What's wrong Twilight? Is it zombies? Are we under attack by ZOMBIES?" He groaned as he lifted his cover to hide himself from said attack.

"No, spike, look! Look at your back!"

Spike looked up form under his cover with an odd look on his face.

"What chu talkin' bout Twilight?" He did as she said and turned his head to see his back. He saw his wings. He extended them and closed them again before turning back to twilight and saying calmly,

"It's just my wings." However, after a second of processing what he saw and said, his eyes widened and he jumped up from his bed.

"By Celestia's name! I've got wings Twilight!"

"Yeah, but why? HOW? You didn't have them yesterday!" Shouted Twilight as she pointed her hoof at Spike's wings.

"I-I don't know. Does this always happens with dragons?" He asked as he turned to look at his dear friend.

"I don't know either...oh wait!" Twilight took off again, she headed down to the library where she began looking book by book for something on dragons. She had read every book in there, but taking another peek wouldn't hurt. She needed an explanation. Spike flew down and hovered by Twilight as she diligently searched the library. In all her excitement of running back and forth, she accidently bumped into Spike, who was flying at eye level to her.

"Ahk, Spike, could you stop flying all over the place?" She said as she held her snout with her hove. "Wait, how do you even know how to fly? If you JUST grew your wings shouldn't you need to learn to fly?"

Spike looked more puzzled than her as he looked at his wings.

"Geez, well, I don't know Twilight. I just kinda do. It's like-" However, he was interrupted by a burp. His own burp. A scroll appeared from green flames he spouted.

Both of them stared at the scroll from Celestia. Spike, feeling a little sick from delivering the scroll, runs off to the bathroom to bilge out some undesirables. Twilight's horn glowed and the scroll floated over by her face. It opened and she began to read.

"To my most studious apprentice, I am receiving a guest from a kingdom from far away. I would like you here for their arrival, I believe you will have much to learn from this visit. Your caring teacher, Princess Celestia."

Twilight looked up from the scroll and groaned. "Now? But we're having a crisis over here, how can I ignore Spike's situation?"

Twilight heard footsteps from behind her. She turned around and there stood Spike, with another scroll in hand. Twilight took it and read it out loud again.

"PS. Do not worry about spike, bring him too." Twilight gasped and looked around. "How did the Princess know I had doubts?"

Spike clears his throat, trying to regain composure. "M-Maybe she knows more about dragons..and knew I would age up today."

Twilight decided not to put too much thought into it. She instead began to pack. Usually when Princess Celestia summons her, she stays at the castle for multiple days. Twilight takes a suitcase and starts packing, blankets, books, and other essentials.

"Spike, will you prepare the hot air balloon?" She asks from upstairs. She turns and is startled by SPike being right behind her.

"Oh goodness! Spike, how did you get behind me without making any noise?" Smiling, Spike said,

"Feet don't make noise in the air." To that, Twilight rolled her eyes before asking.

"So, about the balloon?"

"Oh yes. It seems someone punched a hole in it, so we can't take it..."

"What?! So we have to take the road there?! Do you know how long it'll take us?!" Twilight's shout sent Spike flying to the other side of the room. Upside down, Spike says,

"It's not too far away. A day maybe. When did Princess Celestia need us there?"

Starting to pace back and forth Twilight responded, "The letter didn't specify, but what if we get there and it's too late? The Princess said she wanted us there for the ARRIVAL! Forget packing, we need to go NOW!"

Spike, still upside down on the bookcase began to levitate, this time by Twilights magic. Rushed, Twilights runs out, both the suitcase and Spike levitating behind her as she ran. Up the road, an orange pony stood at a stall where she was selling apples to a customer.

"Thanks Applejack!" said the filly that bought an apple pie from her.

"Well, you're mighty welcome young filly, now you come back anytime ya hear?"

"I sure will." said the young pony before walking off, while balancing the pie on her head.

Applejack went back to relaxing on the counter. As she did, she noticed a gust of wind in the distance.

"Now ain't that odd? I don't believe I've seen a gust form in the town before." However, as she squinted for a better look, she saw a purple dot getting progressingly larger. Her eyes widen as she realized it was Twilight, running at full speed...at her stall? Applejack took cover under the counter as she heard Spike shout at Twilight "Watch out!"

One second later Applejack finds herself under broken piles of wood planks, squashed apples, apple pies.

"What in tarnation, how many times is my stall gonna get torn down in one week?!" Shouted our Applejack as she popped her head out of the rabble. Next to her, Twilight pops her head out as well.

"Oh, I'm so sorry AJ, I got a little carried away..."

"A little is a bit of an understatement." Said Spike as he fly down and hovered just over the rabble.

"Oh my...Are those wings on Spike's back?" Applejack asked as she looked at Twilight. "What, did you use some sort of magic spell on him?" Twilight shook her head as they started to get out from under the rabble.

"No, he quite literally grew them overnight. I was trying to figure out if it was normal, but we were summoned by Princess Celestia to be at her castle by the time of a visit from a very important guest."

"However." Said Spike as he hovered between the two ponies. "The Princess didn't say when the visit would arrive, so Twilight here got off in a hurry to get there."

"So ya'll ponies need a ride?" Asked AJ as she started to clean up the mess and the wasted apples. Something she's grown used to doing over the past year.

"Why yes, but our balloon has a hole in it, we can't just-"

"Ah, but that.s where you're wrong my dear Twilight, you see Rainbowdash owes me a few favors for breaking my stalls, which, by the way, you guys owe me one too. So all I gotta do is get a pulling cart from back at the farm and Rainbowdash will get us there in no time.

"You'd do that AJ?" asked Twilight with a huge smile on her face, once would say it might even rival Pinkypie's smile.

"Of course! I'll always help a friend in need. Sides, I reckon the Princess would know a thing or two about Spikes sudden growth spurt."

"That's what I said!" exclaimed Spike as he and Twilight followed Applejack to her farm to ready a pulling cart. After a few minutes of getting the cart ready, and a few more in convincing Rainbowdash, they were ready to go.

"So let's get it straight, I pull this cart to Canterlot and I'm off the hook?"

"Yup." responded Applejack as she, Twilight, and Spike climb onto the cart.

"All 87 favors right?"

"Yup."

"Then let's get this over with." said Rainbowdash, getting hyped over not having to pay back every individual favor.

"Are you sure about letting go of every single favor?..." asks a reluctant Twilight. Applejack leans close, holding a hove on her right side to whisper to Twilight.

"Don't you worry, knowing Rainbowdash, she'll owe me another by the end of the week."

With a tug of the rope around Rainbowdash's mussle, they were off. Rainbowdash races off on the road, leaving a trail of dust behind. Twilight and Spike hold on to the cart, scared half to death about whether the cart will hold, AJ on the other hand is having a blast as she holds onto the rope. Over the next few minutes, Rainbowdash began to slow down. It was subtle at first, but at one point, Twilight noticed how tired Rainbowdash looked. It's only natural. She's not used to having so much weight pull her back, plus since Canterlot is by a cliff side, the road up to it is up a mountain. The strain on her having used a lot of energy at the beginning was no help either. Long story short, Rainbowdash could use a lesson on pacing.

"Hey, Rainbow, you alright?"

"What are you talking about...I'm great!" bluffed Rainbow like usual. She never was good at saying she couldn't do something, a little something she and Applejack have in common.

"We could take a break, we're ahead of schedule anyway." Rainbowdash was about to say no, but her fatigue caught up to her. She simple laid down and everyone got off the cart. Twilight came to RD's side and gave her some water she had packed. By pure chance, they had stopped right by a pond. It was still morning, so the sun made the water glisten. It was a beautiful sight no doubt. A moment that didn't last long enough. The girls heard a scream come from the forest nearby. Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbowdash ran over towards where they heard it from. Spike tried to follow, but not being accustomed to his wings just yet, lagged behind them. It wasn't a long run. They quickly found a pony and stallion surrounded by a pack of dogs, no doubt trying to rob them.

"Hey!" called out Applejack. "What do you think you're doing?!"

One of the dogs turned around to see who was screaming. When he saw it was just three ponies he opened his mouth to shout.

"Stay out of this if you don't want to get hurt." However, the dog was shocked, it wasn't him that said that, rather, no one from the pack had a chance to speak out. It was the stallion that warned Applejack as he stepped forward to face the pack.

"Are you crazy?!" asked Twilight

"Yeah, you can't handle all of them by yourself." continued Rainbowdash. Had she not been completly wiped out by the pulling the cart, she would have jumped into action, but try as she might, her wings wouldn't move.

Together, the entire pack charge at the stallion. He leaped forward and head butted the one in front of him before leaning back on his two back legs to avoid a slash of one of the dog's knife. With his front legs free, he hit two of his enemies with his hooves, knocking them back. He turned around slightly began dodging and jabbing as the occasion arose. out of the corner of his left eye he noticed one of them lunge itself towards him. To that he leaned down, his front legs now holding him up, he kicked the incoming dog upward. At this moment, he was doing a handstand , his body completely stretched out, something all of the dogs who remained conscious saw as an opening. All together again they used they knives to stab forward. The stallion saw what they were up to and bent his front leg before throwing himself up all of the dogs ended up hitting each other in the middle ground. as they tried to recollect themselves they were quickly greeted by the stallion once again. Having grabbed onto the dog he had kicked into the air, he used him as a board to land on top of the pile of canines under him. He stood victorious over the body of his defeated foes. He raised one of this front hooves, as to stomp and continue to battle, but was interrupted.

"Silver!" shouted the mare behind him. "I think that's enough, no need to beat them further."

To that the stallion grunted and looked over at the Twilight's group, whom were in awe at the scene that happened in front of them.

"You three, who are you?" He asked in a very stale voice. Everyone could get a good look at him now that he was still. He was a well built stallion, an Earth pony since he had no horn or wings. His fur was grey, with his mane being charcoal black, hanging loosely over his right eye which was completely hidden. His cutie mark was quite odd though, it was sort of insignia that consisted of two colors, pink and yellow. It was kind of misplaced to his color scheme, however, he had a necklace on of the same insignia.

"I'll ask again. Who are you three?"


	2. A dragon's history pt2

"I'll ask again. Who are you three?" Said the dark stallion with a cold voice.

"Uh..."started Applejack. She meant to introduce the group, but somehow couldn't bring out the words.

"My name is Blooming Star." Said the mare that stood behind the stallion as she walked closer to them.

"Miss Bloom." He called out to her.

"What? It's only polite to introduce ourselves first. As I was saying, my name is Bloomingstar, this is my knight and protector, Silvercharger."

Silver stepped to the side and got off the pile of dogs. He landed near Bloom who was walking towards Twilight.

"I-I'm Twilightsparkle, these are my friends Applejack and Rainbowdash."

"Well its very nice to meet you three, though I wish it were under better circumstances." The mare in front of them was a unicorn. A very bright yellow unicorn with pink hair and green eyes. Her mane was wavy and curled, not something that could take a few minutes in front of the dresser to make. She had a certain aura to her that made the group calm and relaxed. "Well, I know you didn't do much, but thank you for coming to our rescue when you heard my scream. Right Silver?"

The stallion was prepping the wagon for use again. "Yeah, sure. Thank you very much for your concern." He said very dryly.

"Geez, no need for such sarcasm." Exclaimed Rainbowdash.

"That wasn't sarcastic, that's just how he talks." Bloom said with the most sincere of smiles. The group didn't know whether to think it was true of not, but the way Bloom said it kind of made them want to believe. Silver came from behind them and said to Bloom, the dogs damaged the wagon's wheels, it's in no state to run I'm afraid."

"Oh my." said Bloom. "How are we going to get to Canterlot now?"

"There you girls are!" The entire group looked over to where the voice came from. Silver moved forward and raised and arm in front of Bloom, as to say 'stay back'.

Spike flew out of the bush, exhausted he stood on the ground. "I've been looking EVERYWHERE for you guys.

"A-a-a Dragon?! HERE?!" screamed Blooming star. Silver didn't hesitate, he charged forward. Everyone knew what he was going to do. Rainbowdash mustered some strength and flew past Silver and grabbed a hold of Spike, mean while Apple jack stood in front of Silver.

"Hold it there partner, what do you think you're doing?"

"If it wasn't already obvious, trying to kill a dragon."

"I don't think that's necessary, Spike wouldn't hurt a fly." Silver looked back and saw how Bloom quivered at the thought of being so close to a dragon again. and Suddenly got angry.

"He's a dragon, that's all they know how to do, out of the way." He tried to move past Applejack, to which she stepped to the side, grabbed a hold of his arm and jumped over him, causing him to fall. Applejack held him down in an arm lock.

"Don't be hasty now."

"If you protect a dragon, you're just as bad as them." Silver, who was under Applejack kicks her with his back legs. She wasn't expecting that at all, the surprise loosens the grip on his arm enough for him to roll and break free. Both Applejack and Silvercharger face each other off. Both being Earth pony, it was a battle of physical prowess.

Silver tries the same tactic he used earlier and dashes forward to head butt her. She jumps to the side and kicks with her strong back legs. He noticed her strategy and jumps up on his own back legs as she kicks, for a second, her legs are extended in front of him, and a second is all he needed. He grabs a hold of them and tosses Applejack to the side, she hit a tree and was knocked out. He quickly gets back to what he intended to do, he stepped forward towards Rainbowdash who was holding on to Spike. Both were exhausted and couldn't move. Twilight, however, stepped in between them.

"You can't take him head on." Said Rainbowdash from behind her.

"I don't have to..." Twilight responds. Silver runs full speed. Whatever she was going to do, he had to stop it. Twilight closed her eyes as she tried to concentrate. Her horn glowed and the light it gave out intensified. Just as Silver reached her she opened her eyes and blasted him back, trapping him in a sort of bubble. Silver couldn't get out.

"That...aught to cool you down..." Twilight said under her gasps of air. That spell, took a lot out of her.

Silver struggled to get free, to which Rainbowdash teased him.

"Ha! Whatcha' gonna do now huh?" Her taunt came at importune time, a sort of bolt hit Silver's imprisonment, breaking him free. Dizzy from the sudden upbringing, he tries to regain his composure, Bloomingstar, the one that freed him walks next to him.

"What? How did you break my spell?!" asked Twilight as she tried to put up a tough front.

"I am the most powerful unicorn from where I come from." Bloom said to her. Silver, now ready for another fight, starts to dig his hove at the ground. He was ready to charge in again, but bloom raised her arm in front of him.

"Now now, I know how you feel, but we can't just attack defenseless ponies. When in Rome do as the Romans yes?" Bloom walked forward, closer to Twilight's group. She looked up and closed her eyes. Her horn began to glow a bright yellow. The warm light gently fell on the girls. Applejack opened her eyes and got up.

"Wha-What happened?" She silently asked as Rainbowdash and Twilight also regained some of their strength. Looking a little lost, Rainbowdash put Spike down and stood up.

"I don't know, but I feel much better now."

"I think she healed us." Said Twilight as she looked over at Bloom. Her horn began to dim and suddenly she looked weak. The yellow unicorn fell to her side, the spell took a lot out of her, Silver was there to catch her fall. He looked a little angry, he clearly didn't approve of her healing the group.

"I-Is she alright?" Asked Spike while half hiding behind Rainbowdash. Silver glared at him, causing him to shield himself behind RD's multicolored tail.

"She'll be fine once we get to Canterlot." He said as he lifted Bloom onto his back and started walking away on the road.

"Uh..." Began Twilight. "We're on our way to Canterlot as well. We have a cart so it would be easier to get her there for you."

Silver looked back, his left eye shot a cold glare at the group. He looked back on the road and said without facing them,

"We don't need help from ponies that side with Dragons. We'll be off, I hope we don't cross paths again, and if you do, You should hope Miss Bloom is there to stop me from crushing you under my hooves." And with that he was off. The group was left in his tracks, frozen as he walked away carrying Bloomingstar. Twilight shook her head, as if trying to snap from a haze.

"We, uh better get going too." She said to the group, who also seem to have been snapped back to reality by her voice.

"Yeah, we shouldn't spend too much time in the forest alone..." Said Applejack, he voice sounding sort of depressed. Perhaps it was because she lost in a 1v1 with another Earth pony. Back in Ponyville she as the strongest and sturdiest of them all, she could even compete with pegasi. She could take defeat since sometimes her pride got the best of her and caused a match of strength, but this was different, the difference in power was almost too cruel for her, she felt so weak right now.

As everyone walked back, their thoughts raced. Applejack was preoccupied with Silver, while Rainbowdash was upset with herself. She was completely useless during that fight. She barely had the strength to protect Spike. Twilight had similar thoughts racing in her head, but more so questions. Jsut who were these strange ponies, and why were they so bent on Spike. And that Bloomingstar, she was able to break her spell without any problem. She was on another level than her.

When the group reached the cart again, no one said anything. Applejack got ready to pull the cart, Rainbowdash and Twilight got on as she cart began to slowly make its way to Canterlot. Spike looked around at the ponies he was with, they all looked so down.

"Hey, uh guys." He began, but he didn't know what to say. What could he say? It was clear that no one was in a talking mood. He just sat down and kept his head down.

_What happened? I should have been able to take him, or at the very least have lasted longer._ Thought Applejack. The more she thought about it, the more agitated she got. Subconsciously she started to gain speed pulling the cart. Soon she started to get tired, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to have her body move as fast as her mind was.

Rainbowdash's mane began to move, the wind from how fast they were going finally got her attention. She looked forward and closed her eyes. She imagined herself flying thought the sky again. She has been down before, this was no different, all she had to do was extend her wings and fly like she always did. RD stretched her wings out, the air moved the feathers, the air brushing against her small blue body brought a sort of determination back to her. She flapped her wings and took flight above the moving cart.

Twilight looked up at Rainbowdash. She saw her soar thought the sky like she always did. She always did envy her for how headstrong she was. Nothing stopped her. Ever. No matter what challenge arose, Rainbowdash always rose to the occasion. Suddenly, she didn't want to wallow in self pity. She wnated to get stronger, just like Rainbowdash.

Having the cart suddenly become lighter, Applejack ran faster than ever. Her determination had come back. The was no way she would stand idly by as she finally met her match. She was going to get stronger. Rainbowdash felt so serine back in the air. She wasn't going to stand in the background anymore, it just wasn't like her. Twilight stoop up, something a little reckless for her personality, but there they went. Canterlot in plain view for everyone, they all smiled.

_I'm going to get stronger._

They all thought in unison as they made their way to their destination. Spike took a another look at everyone.

"Oh Geez, why do I even worry about them?" He said to himself as he put his hand behind his head to relax.

Everyone had a smile on their face. Things were heating up for them, and they will not be left behind.


	3. A dragon's history pt3

It was almost evening and Princess Celestia was getting tired of readying through the documents in front of her. She put it down on the table and stood up. She leaned forward and opened her wings as she stretched her entire body. The chair she was on may have been comfortable at first, but it gets tiring over time. She took a quick glance out the window in her study and saw the sun was almost coming down.

"My my, I thought they would have arrived by now." She said to herself before starting to walk off. The came to a hallway decorated with multicolored stained glass windows. She had seem them thousands of times, but they were indeed a beautiful sight, especially at this time of day when the sun was in the right position to cast light thought them, causing the floor to reflect the images. The Princess passed by an open door where she saw her younger sister Luna read a book on a cushion on the ground. Despite how old she's gotten, at times like these she seems like a small filly trying to learn more about the world around her, kind of like Twilightsparkle.

Princess Celestia decided to head to a balcony. As she got there she saw a small gust of dust heading towards Canterlot. She smiled and knew exactly who it was. Twilight had a reputation to get agitated when she left out specific time in her letters to her. Though she a little behind schedule compared to what Celestia had thought. She wasn't usually wrong, so she must have overlooked something. It didn't really matter since her guests hadn't arrived yet either.

The Princess made her way down to the throne room where she was sure Twilight would be headed, no doubt in a hurry to know what her summons were about. As she walked down the corridor she was greeted by her Royal guards as they stood at attention at the sides of the walls. Sometimes she wondered if she should tell them to take a day off, it gets tedious even for her to see them so still. By the time she realized it she was already at her destination. The large throne she had sat on for a thousand years was right in front of her. There was a smaller throne to its side, it was added after Luna came back, at first she was hesitant to sit on it, but she came to soon after.

She sat down. Her throne felt the same as always, a sort of comfort that made her feel empowered. She suppose it's what a throne is suppose to feel. Her thoughts, however, were interrupted by a calling.

"Princess Celestia!" Said a small purple pony as she and her friends entered the room. She gave them a warm smile as they approached her.

"Why hello Twilight, how have you been?"

"Better than ever." Twilight said with a hint of a fire in her eyes. This surprised Celestia. Did something happen to her? She seemed all fired up for some reason. She hadn't seen her like this since the time she was personally teaching her apprentice magic back when she took her under her wing. She took a quick glance at her friends who also seemed as bumped at her. As she scanned the scene, she took a notice of Spike, who as she predicted, had grown wings.

"Ah, Spike, it seems you're finally starting to mature."

Spike, who was flying nearby Applejack, landed and chuckled a little before speaking.

"Heheh, I just knew that you knew about what was happening to me." The princess smiled and looked out to the group.

"Why yes, it was about time for you to mature and start to become a grown dragon." To this Applejack looked a little confused.

"A grown dragon? Excuse me Princess, but shouldn't Spike become a kid first? or maybe a toddler?"

"Yeah." Continued Rainbowdash. "Last I heard, Spike was a BABY dragon."

Twilight nodded in agreement. The Princess looked a little surprised at how insightful they were, especially for Rainbowdash.

"My, you're all full of surprises today. Yes, you are right. Spike IS a baby dragon, and her would have followed the normal growth stages...had he been a normal dragon." Celestia stood and walked over to them. "Haven't you all noticed how Spike has been a baby dragon for quite a while?"

"The three ponies looked around at each other. Not knowing much about dragons, they weren't sure how much time it took for babies to become toddlers. Celestia smiles and pets Spike on the head with her hove. He responds with a giggle.

"Twilight, how long has it been since you met Spike?"

"It's been about 3 years since the entrance exam where I was tested to hatch spike." The purple pony said as she stepped forward.

"Yes it has. You see, I knew the moment I saw you that you had a great deal of magic potential. Spike's dragon egg had been with us for almost a thousand years before he hatched. We had tried everything to get him to hatch but nothing worked."

"A thousand years?" Applejack interrupted. "Wasn't that around the time Nightmaremoon was banished to the moon?"

"Yes, a little after my sister and I fought one another, I found Spike's dragon egg. It was in a very special place."

"And where was that?" Rainbowdash asked anxious to hear. The Princess closed her eyes and took a quick moment to gather her thoughts.

"In the alter where the elements of harmony were created." Everyone looked baffled. Now that they all thought about it, they all knew that the elements were created, but how or where never came to mind. Princess Celestia began her story.

"I am sure you are all aware of how Discord was tearing up our world. Us ponies were not the only ones to combat him. Every creature in existence tried to fight Discord, all of which lost. All except 2 races lost hope. Us, and the fierce Dragon race."

Spike looked down at his hands. As the Princess spoke, he felt strange, angry almost. He couldn't explain it, all he knew is that he wanted to know more. Finally, he was getting the answers he sought for so long ago.

"Dragons were unwavering in their fight with Discord. No matter how many times they were knocked down they always stood back up. Just like Luna and I, they never back down. However, Discord had a way to break an individual's spirit. And soon, they too began to give up. One by one, dragons left the battle field. In the end, only three of us remained. The only two alicorns of the time, Luna and I and the elder dragon, Turin the brave."

Spike's eyes widened. He didn't know why, but the named 'Turin' ringed in his head. His whole body began to shake. Was he scared? He looked around, but everyone was too busy listening to the story to notice him. He was thankful for it, he didn't really want anyone to know how he was feeling.

"Turin was a powerful dragon. He was the only dragon never to lose a fight with Discord. Their fights lasted days, but at one point Discord would grow bored and run off, leaving behind Turin at a draw. He seeked our council, for he knew that this fight could not continue forever. He proposed that we used our magic to help him create a force much stranger then Discord. A force that the God of chaos could not manipulate. He wanted to create the elements of harmony. Of course Luna and I agreed, however, we did not know how we could create such things. Turin said that these elements could be infused into gems. He gathered his forces to look for gems, what used to be nothing more than a delicacy for dragons, now could be the key to stopping the God of chaos. Once the gems were gathered he proceeded to consume them and he rested for months while we did our best to keep Discord away. During this time Turin hardened the gems in his stomach. Heating them over and over, so they would become unbreakable. Once enough time had passed we met once more. He told us to us our magic on him, that he would craft the elements inside him. We did as he said, only he failed to tell us one thing. As the elements were being forged, his life essence was taken from him and placed into the gems. By the time we realized it, it was too late. The elements of harmony were created, but at the cost of Turin's life."

Celestia opened her eyes and looked at the ponies in front of her.

"You all know what happened next. Luna and I used the elements to defeat Discord and restore peace throughout the land. But in Turin's haste to defeat Discord he forgot one thing."

Spike looked at her intently as she spoke.

"He forgot to tell his tribe. In the end, they presumed that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna sacrifized Turin to defeat Discord. And now Dragons hate ponykind." Everyone looked shocked, for it wasn't Celestia who said it. They looked towards the door where a dark stallion with his mane over his right eye stood over a weak looking unicorn. Celestia gave them a quick smile.

"You've finally made it, Silverchaser and Blooming star, how was your trip?"

* * *

Author's note: Thank you for reading my story so far. Please make sure to leave a review to let me know how I'm doing and what you think of the story, it would really help me a lot.


	4. Ponies from Dragon's Bane

Silvercharger walked slowly towards the Princess, Bloomingstar leaning against his side, clearly not recovered since she healed Twilight and the others.

"Long, treacherous, and boring. The usual." Said Silver as he walked. He quickly glanced at the group of ponies, though more specifically at Spike. Finally in front of Celestia, Bloom smiled and hugged her.

"Oh Princess, it's been far too long. The trip wasn't as bad as Silver said. We got to see lots of pretty sights." Silver took a few steps back as Bloom and the Princess spoke. Once again he looked over at Spike.

"Princess, is that dragon the reason you asked for us to come?" Silver asked. Celestia looked at him, just as she expected, he was quick to get to the point. It's only natural, from where he's from there isn't exactly ample time to spend on small talk.

"Yes, allow me to introduce you. This is Spike, and his caretaker, Twi-"

"We're already acquainted." Silver interrupted. Celestia raised an eyebrow, today was certainly a strange day for her, a lot of things happened outside what she predicted. "Are you now?"

Bloom poked Silver on his side. "It's rude to interrupt ponies, especially a Princess." Silver, with a stoic expression, looks back at the Princess and lowers his head. "My apologies."

Twilight and the gang were at a loss of words.

"Wait wait wait wait!" Shouted out Rainbowdash. "These are the special guests you wanted us to meet?!" Silver looked away, which only irritated her more. Her blue face turned red and opened her mouth to give Silver a taste of her mind but Applejack moved in front of her.

"Might I ask why you seem to hate us so much?" Silver looked straight in her eyes and spoke without any filters.  
"Why? Because people like you are idiots who don't know how the world really works." He said in a monotone voice. Even Applejack started to lose her temper at him. How could he say that? He had no idea what hardships she had to go through back home. It was ignorant of him she thought.

"Ahem." Princess Celestia knew things would end badly if it kept going as they were. "How about we have a quick lunch break, then we can discuss about the matters at hand."

"Yes! That's a great idea." Said Twilight, not wanting to have her friends fight Silver yet again. Without fail, something always seemed to go wrong when Applejack and Rainbowdash got competitive. Celestia turned to Bloom who nodded to the suggestion. It was settled, everyone made their way to the outside garden where Celestia instructed for their food to arrive. While they waited everyone was awfully quiet. AJ and RD were glaring at Silver who didn't seem to care they were given him the evil eye.

"So Twilightsparkle was it?" Said Bloom to break the silence. "I hear you're Princess Celestia's apprentice, it must be very difficult."

"Oh not at all...well, some times. Currently she instructed me to study the magic of friendship at Ponyville." To this Silver raised his only visible eyebrow and chuckled softly.

"Have a problem with that?!" Exclaimed Rainbowdash at him.

"Oh not at all, it seems only fitting."

"And what is that suppose to mean?" Asked AJ. Silver looked to his sides, knowing that if she stayed it would only cause more awkwardness, he stood and said,

"I'm not very hungry, I think I'll just go for a stroll if that's alright with you Princess." Celestia smiled and nodded. As if feeling obligated to, the earth and pegasus ponies stood up too.

"I'm not hungry either."  
"Yeah, me neither."

"Umm, are you sure girls?" Asked Twilight, feeling a little uneasy about them leaving the table.

"Yeah, we'll go for a walk too."

"If that's okay with you Princess." Again she nodded and they were off, as everyone guessed, in the same direction as Silver walked off.

"So, can you tell me a little about this magic of friendship?" Asked Bloom at Twilight. To this she smiled and began telling her of her misadventures in Ponyville. Celestia smiled and took a sip of her tea.

* * *

It didn't take long for Silver to notice the ponies following him. He tried to ignore them as he walked and looked around the castle. It was quite a sight to see, a castle with such poor defenses had very little signs of recent battles, or any battles for that matter. His train of thought was interrupted by Rainbowdash's voice.

"What nerve, just walking around the castle like he owns the place."

It slightly annoyed him, and his face showed it. He kept walking off, and as he predicted, they followed. Silver kept moving through the corridors and he came across some guards. They were white pegasi with gold armoring. He couldn't help but think how bad they were at their job. Armor made of gold is completely impractical, not to mention that standing still and at attention only made them large targets from a long range enemy.

"What is he up to now? Think he wants to learn from some real warriors?" Silver heard from around the corner. It was probably that cowgirl pony. Her remark actually ticked him off a little, to think of these guards as 'warriors' was a joke to him. However, he pushed his feelings aside and kept walking.

* * *

"Wow, it seems like you've had quite the adventure." Said Bloomingstar very excitedly. Twilight smiled and looked at her. She was the complete opposite to her guardian, in both personality and color scheme. Which made her realize something.

"Say Bloom, may I ask something about Silvercharger?" Bloom, who was a little distracted by the food finally arriving, looked back at her newly made friend.

"Uh, sure. I hope he didn't come off as a complete brute. He's much sweeter than he appears."

"Actually, I had a question about his cutie mark. I just happened to notice that he has a necklace that looks exactly the same. I mean, usually cutie marks represent what a pony is meant to do in life, but the insignia isn't like anything I had ever seen before." The Princess kept quiet as the food was set infront of them. She already knew this story but she watched carefully as Twilight got her first taste of the cruelty of the world outside Canterlot and Ponyville.

"Oh, I gave him that necklace. It's something I got from my father, it's actually my family's crest."

"So, Silver's cutie mark is your family's crest?"

"Yes, that's how we came to the conclusion that he was my guardian."

* * *

Silver could feel Applejack's and Rainbowdash's glares on his back. He finally grew tired of and and stopped.

"If you have something to say, say it." He said without turning to face them. At first they pretended to not be there, but after a second or two Rainbowdash flew out and looked at him.

"Why do you have to be such an grouch?! It's not like we did anything wrong!" Silver slowly turned around to face her.

"Maybe not from where you're from, but back in my hometown, being with a dragon meant death."

"Do you have something against dragons?" Asked Applejack as she came out of hiding too. To this Silver sighed.

"I think you misunderstood what I meant. What I was meaning to say is that dragons are dangerous and being around one meant you were close to being it's midday snack."

"Not all dragon's are like that you know!"

Silver took a step forward.

"You're right, dragons that have migrated away from the nest aren't. But you know why? Because of ponies like me who keep the aggressive and powerful dragons at bay. The reason you get to have simple and comfortable lives is the reason I have to fight for my, and everyone else's life at Dragon's Bane, my hometown!"

Silver was starting to get heated. It wasn't really like him, but the ignorance displayed before him was getting to him. AJ and RD faced off with Silver, who for the first time, actually seem interested with fighting them.

"Let's settle this here and now!" Yelled out Rainbowdash. Silver smirked when he heard her say it. Finally, something that he knew how to handle.

"Alright then, back home we usually settled disputes with duels, are you pampered ponies up for it?" This really angered Applejack, she knew that she was far from having a 'pampered' lifestyle.

"You're on, who do you wanna fight first?"

"Why not both at once? You two could use an extra edge, too bad it probably won't matter." Both sides equally fired up, they walk over to an open field to start their match.

* * *

"Silver and I are from a town called Dragon's Bane." Bloom stated, feeling a little awkward about it.

"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked a little worried about her.

"Let me explain a little." Celestia said before taking a drink from her tea. "The Dragon's were outraged with having their elder sacrificed in the process, so they began to attack. However, we had very little resourced to combat this new enemy. I spent most of my time and energy with simply fending them off. We couldn't exactly fight back, if more of them died the war would only become stronger and more brutal, so Luna used her magic to bring them all into a deep slumber. While they slept, we tried to come up with ways to fight, or maybe even negotiate with them. None of which really seemed sensible. One day a pegasus thought of establishing a society at the edge of the border of the dragon's territory. They would be the first line of defense against them when they woke up. Ponies from around Equestria volunteered to join the ranks of the Dragon's Bane. They built a castle fortress which would serve as their home until they awoke. When they did, they would fight them off as they approached us."

"Years past and ponies began to think they wouldn't wake up. They stopped training as hard as they should have and got sloppy with their scouting." Bloom added, it was very apparent she was hurting being reminded about her town's past.

"Yes they did. Once the dragons did wake up, they were furious. They attacked Dragon's Bane and the town lost a lot of ponies. One unicorn, however, managed to push them back with a spell he had made over the years they spent asleep. It was indeed very powerful because it used the town itself as a rod to amplify his magic. The dragons were driven back, but at a high price. Not only did they lose a lot of lives, the spell was so powerful it drained the energy out of the user, knocking him unconscious, asleep he wouldn't wake up for months. All the while the rest of the ponies had to fend them off. Over time, more unicorns learned the spell, which was only used when the town was over flooded, because it would knock them all unconscious. Decades passed and the dragon's attacks lessened. It was a nice break from the constant fighting. The unicorn that created the spell was called Blazingstar.

"He is my ancestor. My family has been the beacon of hope to help keep the dragons at bay, but we've grown weary and tired of all this fighting. We've lost enough friends and family, we want it to stop."

"S-so, Princess, you mentioned something about going back to the alter where you made the elements of harmony." Said Spike hesitant to speak. He felt saddened to learn of what his 'brethren' did to the ponies he's grown to love.

"Ah yes, feeling depressed about being the only one left of the three who made the elements, I ventured back to the alter to pay my respects to Turin. When I arrived, I saw your egg there. It was strange, I had gone to the alter every year, but only now did you appear. At first I was afraid dragons had made it out of their territory, but after looking around, I saw no sign of that. I brought you back with me and waited for you to hatch. I even tried using some magic to speed it up, but nothing worked. Somehow, I just knew the egg was a sort of heritage from Turin. I thought perhaps with you we could come to peace with the dragon race." Twilight tilted her head.

"Wait, so why was he my entrance exam to the magic academy?" To this Celestia giggled a little.

"Well, out of all the spells I used on Spike's egg, there was one that made me change the way I was handling the situation. I used a powerful spell that was suppose to link me up with the egg so I might understand it. It was simple in theory, I could better understand what I was supposed to do if I had a sort of mental connection to the egg. However, when I used the spell, instead of resonating with me, it linked up with another pony. I took the egg and used it as a means to find who it decided to link up with, and stumbled across you. At the time you were reading a book out on a bench. From that day on I kept an eye on you. I saw you had talent with magic and placed a means for your parents to help you get an audience to enter the magic academy. I requested that your test was to hatch Spike here."

"So...you planned it all?" asked Spike as Twilight looked in awe. It was strange to know that Princess Celestia had guided her even back when she was a filly. The Princess noticed how shocked Twilight was and simply giggled before taking another sip of her tea.


	5. Silver's and Bloom's past

Silvercharger stood in front of Rainbowdash and Applejack. The Orange pony dug at the ground in anticipation while the blue one flew a few feet off the ground next to her. Time seemed to slow down with each flap of her wings. They had agreed to start the match when the stick he threw in the air hit the ground, however, no pony was looking up. They couldn't risk the other get the jump on them. It was silent, nothing else mattered right now except their opponent on the other side of the garden. Out of the corner of his eye, Silver saw the stick get close to the ground. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then it was heard, the slam of wood breaking on the hard ground. Slowly he opened his eyes and sure enough they were charging at him. It all seemed to move so slowly for him, after all...it was just another day for him. He lifted his hove and slammed it on the ground before running forward too.

* * *

"So Blooming star-"

"Just Bloom is fine" The yellow pony said with a smile.

"Right, Bloom. I never got around to thank you for healing me and my friends." Twilight said a little embarrassed. She thought back to the incident and remembered how powerful her magic was. How it looked so easy for her to break her spell.

"It was no problem, though I have to admit, it took a lot out of me. I've only used it twice before, all on Silver."

"Considering his attitude, I bet he gets in a lot of fights." Said Spike before taking a bite of a hay sandwich that was offered to him by a maid pony bringing their lunch.

"Yeah, he's kind of a hot head. But I can't say it's bad. It was because he is quick to jump into action that I'm alive right now."

"Oh? What happened?" Asked twilight, putting down her food to listen.

"Well, I had just taken the oath to use Dragon's Bane. I think I was just out of fillyhood. As a test, my family took me to the center of the castle to activated the spell for the first time. However, I wasn't able to do it. It was really weird. My magic was far from lacking, but the spell just wouldn't activate it. Ashamed, I ran out of the castle and into the woods. Silver and I usually played their together, so it was safe enough. Or so I had thought." Bloom looked down at her tea. She saw her reflection and her thoughts raced. The image in the cup was rippled as a tear left her eyes and hit the tea. Twilight looked at her newly made friend and got worried. She was about to say something to her before she was stopped by the Princess.

"It had started to rain, but I didn't care. I was much too preoccupied with self pity. That is, until I heard a loud growl. Looked behind me to find a dragon, an adolescent. Thankfully it wasn't an adult dragon ro I would have been dead long before I had heard the growl." Bloom looked again at her reflection and remembered how the rain stung against her face as she ran away from it. She tripped and fell many times, each time the dragon had gotten close to clawing at her, or sinking it's teeth into her flesh. But her endurance didn't last very long. She had made it out into a clearing before she had dropped.

"By the time I ran all I could I had only made it half way back to the castle. I knew there was no way I would survive this. I fell to the ground and placed my hooves over my head, as if that would have protected me at all, still, I was terrified, it's all I thought I could do. I remember hearing the dragon growl once more before leaping at me."

* * *

Silver was pushed back, his hooves left a track on the dirt beneath him. He barely had time to regain his composure before he saw Rainbowdash charge at him from the air. He dodge to the left.

"What happened to all that big talk?" mocked Rainbowdash as she looked down at Silver.

A little annoyed, Silver looked at them. Maybe it was bad to underestimate them after all. He had to take this seriously. He changed his center of gravity and stood up on his hind legs.

Applejack saw it as an opening and ran full speed at him. It was a mistake. This was Silver's method of fighting, by standing on his back legs his front legs were free to do jabs and grabs. Silver moved one of his legs back and slide it around. Applejack missed her tackle by pure centimeters, Silver grabbed a hold of her torso and moved his legs to support the extra weight as he threw her at Rainbowdash up in the air. Surprised, Rainbowdash barely had time to react and catch Applejack.

"What in tarnation? You move on just two legs?" Silver narrowed his visible eye and said,

"It's fighting style I developed while training. After all, an Earth colt needs an edge over ponies with magic and wings. Now..." He said as he raised his hooves into position. "Allow me to show you what a real warrior can do."

Fed up with his cockiness, Rainbowdash put her friend down and flew circles around Silver as she bought her time to attack from a blindside. Silver didn't move an inch. He could feel the air around him change pressure from how fast she was going. He definitely did not want to be hit by her going at that speed. RD suddenly switch directions, she charged at him from behind. Silver knew that out all angles, an attack from behind was the more probable. The moment he felt the winds shift he knew he was right. As if on ice, Silver's hooves slid across the dirt. He turned himself around and his body faced Rainbowdash just as she was about to hit him. He leaned back and grabbed a gold of her hair. Silver allowed himself to fall, as he did, he placed his hind legs positioned against the blue pony's stomach. that one second where they were in mid air allow him to flip half way and kick her away with her own momentum.

"AHHHHHH!" Is all that came out of Rainbowdash as she flew across the air at a bush on the other side of the garden.

"Having long hair is a hindrance in battle..." Silver said as he stood back up on his back legs, getting into his fighting stance again. However, by the time he realized, Applejack was feet away from him, she twisted her body and roundhouse kicked him. Silver barely had time to react, but not enough to completely avoid the attack.

"Well your hair isn't exactly short either." Said Appejack as her back leg made brief contact with Silver's head. She saw it, if only for a second, but Silver's mane lifted from his face. She froze as she realized that Silver's mane wasn't just styled for looks. His right eye was closed shut by three large scars across it. He was blinded by what seemed to have been a bear claw, or maybe something worse...

* * *

"When I opened my eyes I saw Silver standing over me and the dragon sent flying back a few yards. But before I had time to smile, something hit my cheek. At first I thought it was the rain, but it was too dense...to heavy. I look up and I see Silver with a bleeding face. He didn't just push back the dragon, he took that deadly hit for me and because of me...he lost an eye."

Twilight looked down, not knowing what to say. Spike was the same, he looked down at his right hand, more specifically his claws. Spike never once thought of hurting someone with his claws. He knew that it was possible to seriously harm someone, but to know that damage like this was real...he was just expecting it..._I guess I really am still a baby dragon..._He thought as he realized how naive he had been until now about who he was.

"I remember looking up at him and wanting to scream. I wanted to do something, but nothing came out of my mouth at all. I felt more and more helpless. But then he looked down at me and...and...and he smiled at me. 'I'm so glad you're ok Miss Bloom', I couldn't believe what I heard. Even after losing his eye he was still worried about me." Bloom's tears began to fall more and more. The Princess place an arm around her as she tried to regain control of her voice to tell them the rest.

"He looked over at the dragon who was getting back up and really to fight and said to me, 'You stay right here Miss Bloom, I'll be right back. Won't take more than a minute.' as he walked forward and took up his usual fighting stance. I saw it then, his side glowed and he received his cutie mark. The insignia of my family."

* * *

Receiving a small shock to the head, he moved one of his hooves to keep his balance. He looked over at a frozen Applejack. He was sure she caught a glimpse of his scar. A brutal reminded of who his is and why he must fight dragons. He looked at Rainbowdash who was flying straight at him, but suddenly Applejack stopped her.

"Wait!" She said as she caught Rainbowdash before she could tackle him.

"What? We're kind of in the middle of a-" The blue pony couldn't finish before Applejack pressed her hove against her mouth to shush her.

"Listen...we're uh sorry about the trouble, think we could place our duel on hold for a bit?" Silver sighed and nodded. He began to walk away as he heard the two ponies bicker with eachother, the orange one giving excuses about why she put a pause on the duel, but he knew she was just taking pity on him. Everyone who has seen his scar had pitied him. He cringed his teeth as he walked out of sight. Just before he turned around the corner Applejack got one last glance at him, she slightly frowned and went back to calming down Rainbowdash.

* * *

"The fight didn't last long. Silver won swiftly, he ran circles around that stupid dragon." Bloom said with a smile, pushing her tears back and trying to be happy again. "It just proves that he wouldn't have gotten hurt like that if it wasn't for me. I felt so bad about it, but I remember how he walked back to where I was and smiled at me again. He glanced at his new cutiemark and said, 'Lucky me, looks like I get to be beside you all times as your bodyguard now...so please Miss Bloom...don't run away again.' I looked up at him and saw him crying while he smiled at him. I stood up and cried along with him. I didn't notice, but my horn was glowing. It was then I used that healing spell. It happened on its own. However, I wasn't able to save his eye..."

"It's fine, it's not like I need it." Said a hard sounding voice from behind them. Celestia looked back and smile at Silver who was walking back.

"Have a nice stroll around the castle?" Silver looked at her with a dead stare.

"Well...I could go on for hours about how bad it's defenses are, or how your guards wouldn't last a second in an actual attack, but I'll skip Bloom's lecture later and simply say, Yes, it was a good walk." Bloom puffed up her cheeks, a little annoyed at Silver who made her come across as naggy.

"Oh you, be quiet." She said before giggling at herself. Twilight smiled as she saw Bloom look happy again. She wasn't sure why, but it was apparent that this stoic character could brighten her day.

"That is until your friends challenged me to a duel." Twilight stood up shocked and angry.

"They did WHAT?!"

Silver glanced behind him and saw Applejack and Rainbowdash coming around the corner and a wild idea came to him.

"Why yes, they made a huge deal about how they were better than me. They even went two on one cause they couldn't wait their turn to try to punch my face, quite sad really, I put them in there place though."

Silver hadn't even finished before Twilight raced over to her friends and proceed to beat them, shouting things like 'I can't believe you'd do this' and 'When the Princess is around of all times'. Silver couldn't help but snicker at himself. Bloom took notice and realized he exaggerated his statement. She wanted to lecture him, but felt more happy then angry. She was happy he was finally relaxed. Silver regained his usual look at glanced over at Spike who was laughing at how Twilight was beating her friends. Somehow it was odd. He still felt that dragon's were his enemies, but this 'Spike' has made it of his list of dragon's to kill...for now.

The Princess went over to Twilight and her friends to split them up.

"Ahem!" She said. Everyone froze and they looked at Celestia.

"Twilight, I would like you and your friends to accompany Silvercharger and Bloomingstar back to Dragon's Bane."

Twilight and Silver looked rather shocked.

"W-what?"

"You see Twilight, Bloom here still can't seem to activate Dragon's Bane, so I would like you, as my precious apprentice, to help find out why."

"Dragon's what?" asked Rainbowdash, but she was pushed aside by her purple friend.

"Y-yes! We won't disappoint!"

Silver looked over at the girls and the small dragon that were to become his new companions and sighed.

"Well...looks like the trip back will be much longer than the trip here..."

* * *

Author's note: Finally done with the intro to the story. You could consider all this as to what you'd see before the intro theme. Again, please leave a review about your thoughts. The good, the bad, and the ugly :)


	6. Journey home

Applejack turned in her sleep, as she did she accidently bumped her arm against Rainbowdash who proceeded project a loud snore which woke her up. She gave out a small scream and came to, to see herself surrounded by other ponies under one large blanket. It was just early morning and the wagon they were on was making small progress towards Dragon's Bane. VERY slow progress, actually, Applejack was surprised it was moving at all, the previous night they all had agreed that they would rest out on the wagon the Princess had given them to help transport. She looked around at the ponies in the wagon. Rainbowdash was sleeping rather stretched out while Twilight and Spike cuddled together. Blooming star was sleeping on her own, but she held a smile on her face. The only one missing was Silvercharger.

Applejack looked outside of the wagon, sure enough there Silver was pulling the wagon forward. His eye was dull as ever, but this time Applejack thought it was simply because he woke up so early.

"Sorry." Silver said without turning his head to Applejack. "I tried to make sure to pull the wagon slow enough to keep everyone asleep."

"Uh, no no. I actually woke up on my own. You couldn't sleep?"

"I always wake up early. I didn't want to waste any time on getting back so I got out and started pulling."

Applejack wasn't sure how to deal with him. He is so dry, but somehow, she developed new patience for him after their little duel the previous day. The silence stayed for another minute or two, a period that seemed to last forever.

"M-maybe I should pull the wagon for a bit." Silver turned his head slightly.

"Why would you want to do that?" Applejack looked a little nervous when he finally looked at her.

"Well, you've been working so hard...you should rest for a little." Silver looked forward again and said.

"You're starting to sound like Miss Bloom.

"Why do you call her 'Miss'? She seemed to be close to you."

"Why do you refer to Princess Celestia as 'Princess'? You seem to be close to her too." Applejack kept quiet as she began to see his point. "It's the same thing. From where I come from, Miss Bloom is like royalty. Very important royalty , the only one in this generation which can push back the dragons if they get too close..."

Silence fell upon their conversation again and AJ started to get fidgety. She decided to join Silver in walking. Moving her hooves would help her keep calm. She made her way to Silver's side who other than given her a quick glance, kept looking forward not minding her. Applejack started to pay attention to how Silver looked up close. His charcoal mane swayed back and forth over his right eye and slender face. This grey coat seemed to chimer as the sun slowly began to rise over it. His necklace and cutie mark of the same design still seemed mismatched to his whole character. The Bright pink and yellow didn't seem to go with him at all. He didn't seem bothered by it. His ears flickered slightly, she saw that they somehow seemed larger than most stallions. Silver noticed how she was looking at his ears.

"Do they bother you?" Applejack became a little embarrassed that he noticed how she was looking at him.

"Back when I was a child my ears were much larger than others I was made fun of because of them. In time, I grew into them, so to speak. I'm not ashamed of them, they help me keep track of sounds and wind currents. It's how I was able to beat your blue friend yesterday."

"Oh really? Well that explains it...you know about the duel, I was wondering if we could forget about it and start over." Silver glanced over to Applejack for a second.

"I don't really have anything against it, but may I ask why?" Applejack looked away, unable to bring her words out.

"If there is one thing that I hate more than pampered ponies, it's being pitied. I'm aware that you saw my scarred eye yesterday, was it really a coincidence that you decided to stop the duel? I can handle myself just fine with one eye." Applejack looked at the stallion next to her and quickly spoke out.

"You've got the wrong idea! I just felt really bad. I was just so caught up on how you sounded all high and mighty, constantly talking down to Rainbowdash and me. I didn't realize there was a reasonto your madness...Twilight caught Dash and I on you and Bloom's background. I just think we got off on the wrong hoof." To this, Silver looked over at AJ and raised his eyebrow.

"I see, you're quite honest aren't you?" Applejack laughed a little and replied.

"Yes sir, that's my element after all. Honesty."She said with a smile, the mood lightened up a little, though Applejack still had a hard time making conversation with Silver. From behind a sheet on the wagon, Bloom smiled as she saw Silver and Applejack interact. It made her happy to see Silver start to warm up to their new friends.

It wasn't long before everyone else began to wake up. Silver continued to push the wagon as he heard everyone interact with one another. Bloom and Twilight seemed to have lost themselves in conversation again as they sat on the seats behind the reigns. Rainbowdash and Applejack bickered. The earth pony walked a little behind Silver with the pegasus flying around complaining about how slow the wagon was going.

"Can we hurry it up tall dark and brooding?" Raibowdash asked Silver, causing Applejack to argue with her. He DID believe they were lagging behind schedule, but going faster now would only make the blue pony believe she had won over him, and his pride wouldn't allow him to move faster, if anything, he began to walk slower to pester her passive aggressively.

"Are you sure you don't want me to pull the wagon? Even for a little bit?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Why would you do that? Let the guy do all the hard work." Rainbowdash said trying to insult him. Again the two 'friends' bickered. Silver could feel a vein on his forehead pop out as he grew more and more annoyed.

"...so then Silver comes up to him and whacks him right in the jaw." Bloom said to Twilight as they sat comfortably.

"Wow Bloom, if I didn't know any better I'd say Silver was just being a jealous boyfriend." Twilight replied as they both began to giggle to themselves. Somehow, that annoyed him more than the constant bickering that was taking place beside him.

"Oh Twilight, you don't know the half of it. Back home, Silver inspects everyone that gets close to me. It was cute at first but it's become a hassle now." Again they giggle. To makes matters worse, Rainbowdash had overheard the girls talking and began teasing him with it.

"Oh Miss Blooooom." Rainbowdash said as she flew around and sat next to her, pushing the girls closer together.

"What are you up to girl?" Applejack asked from beside the wagon. Silver didn't want to feed Raibowdash's urge to poke fun at him, but he couldn't ignore anything that had to do with Bloom.

"Oh nothing, I was just wondering if I could sit here next to them, my wings got tired after all." Twilight raised an eyebrow and said,

"But Rainbowdash, you've always been able to-" Twilight's mouth was covered by Dash's hoof before she could finish. Since Bloom was between her and Twilight, Rainbowdash now had her arm technically around Bloom. This really angered Silver, it was clear as he sent a death glare in Rainbowdash's direction. He clenched his teeth as he tried his best to hold back the urge to pick a fight with his new 'comrades'.

A long loud yawn came from behind everypony. Out from behind the wagon's sheets came Spike. Everyone except Silver and Bloom held a blank expression on their face. "Good morning..." Spike began stretching as he stepped out onto the seat where almost everyone was sitting. He sat down next to Twilight who looked at him, jaw opened.

"I-is something wrong Twilight?..." Asked Bloom as she saw how petrified the purple pony looked. Spike, who used to come only leg height to Twilight, was now at eye level to her. His body proportions were different, his baby fat was no longer noticeable and his wings seemed bigger than before.

"Umm...Spike, I think you had another growth spurt..." Applejack said from the side. Spike opened his eyes wide as he looked straight forward. He quickly inspected his body to see what was different, and before anyone could say another word he jumped up joyfully."

"WOOOHOHOHO!" He screamed out as he flew around. "I'm just as big as you guys now!" Excited by his new proportions everyone looked worried as he flew around.

"Is he going to get a growth spurt every night?" Twilight asked out loud to which Silver responded.

"I certainly hope not. It's going to be hard enough to get him in without causing a panic as it is."

Spike came back down and Bloom petted him on the head. "There's no need to worry, I'm sure they'll let him in if I saw he's ok." Silver looked off into the distance and thought to himself. _The problem isn't whether or not they let him in, it's whether or not they'll try to kill him once he's inside._

The day continued rather boringly. Second night came along and everyone made a campfire next to the wagon. They all sat in a circle as Silver went off to collect fire wood. Spike sat on a log alongside Rainbowdash as they talked about how big he was getting and how excited he was for his next growth spurt.

"Say Miss Bloom." Began Applejack.

"Just Bloom is fine" The yellow pony responded with a smile.

"Umm, Bloom. Is Silver always as uptight? Or is it cause we're around." Bloom smiled before responding.

"Silver has a hard time expressing himself sometimes that's all. But she always has everyone's best interests in mind. He's a big teddy bear underneath it all."

"I would like it if you refrained from calling me a teddy bear." Silver said as he made his way over to the group. He was carrying firewood with his front arms while walking on his hind legs. Everyone grew quiet as they saw him. Many ponies could balance on their back legs but no one had ever seen one walk on just two legs for long periods of time before. Silver put the wood down and sat down next to Bloom.

"Where did you learn to walk like that?" Asked Spike. "As far as I know, I had been the only one that could walk on just two legs."

"It is exactly because dragons like you can walk on two legs that I taught myself to do the same. Ponies are already at a disadvantage when fighting dragons, being on two legs allows me to fight more efficiently." Silver explained. Applejack began to remember the duel they had the day before and how much he overpowered her and Rainbowdash. Was it really just cause he could stand on two legs?

"Silver always was a little different when it comes to fighting. Actually, he is one of the only earth Colts to be part of our army."

"How come there aren't many Earth ponies?" Asked Twilight as she looked over at Silver who was throwing in more wood into the flames. He looked up at her and responded.

"Think about it. We earth kind may have more physical power, but we can't exactly hold a sword very well. Unicorns on the other hand can use their magic to levitate and swing it around. Pegasi make excellent scouts cause of how fast they can fly. For the most part, Earth kind don't really have a use in an army against dragons."

"So what makes you so different?" Rainbowdash asked.

"I don't use weaponry. I fight with my hooves, something much more deadly than ponies give it credit." He turned to look at Applejack. "You're a farmer pony right? By your cutie mark I presume you buck apples. Tell me, have you ever kicked another pony with your full strength?" Applejack seemed shocked. The thought of her using her full strength in her kick against someone made her chinch, something like that would do more than just hurt the other pony.

"Well, I know there would be a lot of broken bones..." She finally said.

"Yes. The pure strength of Earth kind is their own advantage, however, not many have the will power to use it."

The night progress as Silver spoke about the army he was part of and how it ran. The whole conversation made Twilight worry about what was in store for them. The way he spoke about fighting and how serious he was made her believe that their lives would be in danger soon. She took a look at Spike who had fallen asleep on her shoulder and pondered if bringing him along was really a good idea. They were going to enter a castle who's only purpose was to kill dragons. All she could do was hope Bloom was right and that they would listen to her when they got there.

The next morning was like the first. Silver woke up early and got up, but to his surprise, Applejack was already pulling the wagon.

"Sorry partner, couldn't have you do all the heavy lifting on your own." She said as he got out to walk next to her. Somehow he wasn't sure how to feel about having their roles reversed like this.

"Say..." Applejack began. "Do you think that we'll end up fighting dragons once we arrive at Dragon's Bane?"

"Yes." Silver said nonchalantly. It was clear he was used to fighting them on a regular basis.

"Do you think you could teach me to fight like you?" The orange pony asked a little nervously. Silver looked over at her and raised an eye brow.

"I could yes...but why would you want to? Do you plan to fight alongside Dragon's Bane if we are attacked?"

"Now that's a silly question. Of course I would. I'm sure I can speak for Twilight and Rainbowdash too when I say that we wouldn't stand in the background while ya'll do all the work."

Silver looked forward and he saw his town in the distance. Dragon's Bane, the only border stopping the dragon's from invading the rest of Equestria. He smiled and said to his orange friend.

"Sounds like fun, how about you enroll in our army as a temporary soldier when we arrive."

"Sounds like a plan." Applejack said as she looked forward and saw their destination. She quickly looked back and shouted.

"Hey ya'll, we're here!" Her voice woke up the rest of the group and they all peered through the sheets of the wagon. Twilight and Rainbowdash looked in awe as they grew closer to the castle. Bloom, who was behind them didn't have a smile on her face anymore. Though her home was right in front her, the responsibilities that came with being back in Dragon's Bane came with it. Alongside her was Spike who also had a worried look on his face. It seems he had another growth spurt after all...


	7. Finally home

The sound of a wagon's wheels echoed thought the woods. Ponies on top of the walls of Dragon's Bane glanced its way and one signaled to point a cannon at it. The wagon kept its slow pace until it reached the large gates of the city.

"Who goes there? Any sudden movements and we'll obliterate you to Cloudsdale." Silver, who was pulling the wagon looked up at the pony who spoke out.

"Not only did you not say what you were suppose to, but you failed to recognize your commanding officer from this close of a distance. You are here by reassigned back to combat trainer." Silver's cold hard voice echoed through the walls of the city and everyone opened their mouths. The pony who had spoken out began to sweat.

"Oh...Commander Sir. I am terribly sorry. You fools! Hurry up and open the gates!" He said to ponies who stood beside him. They quickly obeyed and ran down to open the gates. Slowly the large doors opened inward. The cold breeze pushed out and swayed Silver's hair who proceed to pull the wagon in. Inside the wagon were the rest who remained quiet as they entered. Spike remained under the sheet they used to cover themselves when they slept. Finally Bloom poked her head out from the wagon and asked.

"Siiiiiilver. Can we get out yet?"Her voice was cutely whiny. Silver looked back and waited until the gates behind them closed all the way before nodding to her. Instantly she and the rest of the ponies jumped out.

"Remind me again why we had to hide in the wagon when we were practically here already." Asked rainbow as she stretched her wings out. Silver handed over the wagon to another pony and instructed him to take it to the stable.

"Because it is around the walls of Dragon's Bane where Dragon worshippers stalk to attack unsuspecting passengers."

"We could have taken them!"

"And risk Miss Bloom getting hurt? No thank you."

Rainowdash pouted as Twilight passed her.

"Umm Silver, about-" The grey stallion interrupter her and said.

"Do not worry, we'll come get him later when there are less ponies around." Twilight wasn't sure how to feel about leaving Spike alone in the wagon surrounded by ponies trained to kill dragons, but Bloom came by her and smiled at her, which somehow comforted her. Silver led the way and everypony followed behind. Rainbowdash looked around as all the ponies went on with their day, they all had either a tired or dead expression, it was clear their work wasn't all that enjoyful for them. HOwever,it was then she noticed something peculiar.

"Hey Bloom, howcome every pony has the same cutie mark as you?" Asked the pony pegasus. "Does that cutie mark mean you belong in the army?" Bloom looked back at her friends with a sad expression.

"No, everyone in the army has this mark branded on them." Silver stepped in for Bloom who was clearly not too comfortable talking about it.

"This cutie mark was first wore by Blazing Star, Miss Bloom's ancestor, as his own, it was later implemented as the army's insignia for our flag. Over time we noticed how ponies wouldn't achive their calling by staying in the army as they would if they lived their lives, so whoever joins the army is branded with a special spell with takes place of their cutie mark, for you see, joining this army is a choice, not a calling, unlike a real cutie mark."

"But you have your own cutie mark, and you're in this here's army." Added Applejack.

"Like I said, it's a cutie mark given by a special spell, think of it as a temporary cutie mark. If, and I mean if, you somehow get your real cutie mark it will replace the army's brand, however, there has only been a hand full of ponies how have gotten their real cutie mark."

"That seems a little sad, it's no wonder everyone seems to unhappy." Twilight said as she looked around. She saw one pony with a cutie mark. It was a chef who was distributing rations to the other ponies. He seemed a little bit more lively than the others.

"Look around and be thankful, for it is because of these ponies sacrificing their happiness and calling in life that you are allowed to enjoy yours." Everyone remained quiet, for once, everyone seemed to understand a little of why Silver is the way he is. The sound of their hooves echoed much more loudly as they entered the castle where they would be staying. It was battle scarred for sure. Tall and old looking with vines and cracks everywhere. The inside was not anymore pleasing to the eye. The interior was lit by mere candles, giving the entire structure an eerie feel. As they went in they were greeted by guards on their patrols, most of them only said a word to Silver and Bloom, but there was a young filly in a cloak who also came by.

"Oh hello there." She said with excitement. "How was your trip Miss Bloom? I see you brought some friends along." Bloom kneeled down next to the small filly and rubbed manes with her in a hug.

"It was a very nice and peaceful trip, and these are some friends of mine I made along the way." Bloom introduced them and before the small pony would get another word out, she was called from across the hall.

"That there is one young little fella', is it okay for her to be in this place?" Asked Applejack out of worry.

"I was just a child when I joined, I see no problem in it." Said Silver as he continued walking on, leading the group up some stairs.

"But I doubt everypony here is like you Silver." Applejack said.

"Actually, she was found." Said Bloom in a slightly cheerful tone. "Doesn't remember a thing about how she got to Dragon's Bane. It was quite odd actually. It was like if she just appeared within the walls of the city. Siler wasn't too pleased that a small filly made it past his elite guards." She added with a giggle. Since the grey stallion was leading no one saw his annoyed expression, but everyone knew he had it. Everyone joined in on the laugh, and somehow the whole mood was lifted from the gloom of before.

Silver finally made a turn to a door, which was quite large, he seemed to struggle slightly on opening. Everyone looked in awe as the light slowly illuminated the large room that had been their destination. It was a large circular room with a pentagram of sorts in the middle. In the middle was an insignia that they all knew since they had seen it none stop since arriving, Bloom's family emblem. The whole pentagram drawing was very elaborate and detailed, inside the giant circle where 5 empty sections where an altar stood in each.

"Wow-wee, where are we?" Asked applejack with her mouth gapped open. Everyone slowly stepped inside, as they did the ground lit up and the insignia on Bloom's cutie mark glowed in a similar green fashion.

"This is Dragon's Bane, the altar which is used for repelling the dragons when they try to over run us.

"This is all good and dandy, but why are we here?" Asked Rainbowdash who flew a few feet from where everyone was standing.

"I was sure the Princess instructed you to help us with activating Dragon's Bane, I thought it would be a good idea to start as soon as we arrived." Silver responded in a cold manner. The girls were about to retort to his response when Twilight stopped them.

"There there girls, he's right. I should get started right away." The earth pony and pegasus stood back as Twilight slowly made her way to the glowing engraved pentagram. She stared at it for quite a while and the ponies grew worried.

"Everything ok sugarcube?" AJ asked as she took a step closer. Twilight slowly shook her head as she looked franticly at the pentagram.

"No...everything isn't ok. I have no idea what anything of these things mean. It's like a completly different language." Twilight kept trying to make sense of the pentagram and the writing on it. She circled the room. She was so distracted she didn't noticed Bloom when she bumped into her.

"Now now Twilight, no need to worry yourself. The language you see is in dragon tongue. I can show you what they mean." Bloom said with a smile. Twilight smiled back and they began talking to eachother over what was written. Silver walked over to AJ and Rd. He nudged them and gave a gesture that it was time for them to leave and let them have some peace to work. He walked out of the room and they followed suit.

"Miss Bloom will work with your friend to find the answer we need, for now I believe we're done. Would you like me to show you to where you'll be staying at?" Rainbowdash and Applejack looked a little shocked at how courteous Silver was being with them.

"Well I guess you aren't as rude as I thought. Thanks but no thanks, I have some exploring to do." Rainbowdash didn't even allow Silver enough to time give a response, in just a few seconds she was off and out of sight. Silver, looked in the direction Rainbowdash flew off in and kept his rather indifferent expression.

"I'm mighty sorry, I'm sure she won't cause any trouble though." Silver turned and began walking in the opposite direction.

"I know. That corridor leads to a series of halls that if you're not familiar with, you'll only get lost in. I think we'll probably see her by supper." Silver smirked to himself. Applejack caught a glimpse and smiled along as she followed Silver.

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Author's Note: Sorry I haven't updated in a while, school work caught up to me. Anyway, this chapter wasn't very long, but i will be updating more regularly. As always, please make sure to review and leave your thoughts on it.


	8. The secret passage

The sun was slow to set, however, because of Dragon's Bane's large walls, it became dark much faster than in Ponyville. Everypony began to prepare for their night routine. Guards were posted and began to make their rounds, and every pony else headed to the barracks where they wold rest until early the next morning. As the busy courtyard began to lose it's momentum, Spike became increasingly worried. His last growth spurt left him with large claws and scary cat like eyes. Soon he would look like the dragons in the gang he met during his quest to find himself a while back. They, of course, are still much taller then he is right now, but he would definitely would look threatning.

_Now he definitely can't be seen by the others. They'll attack him on the spot. I, for one, do not want to cause a panic._

Silver's words still echoed in his head. When he saw him earlier he was just about ready to attack him yet again. Bloom's terrified face didn't help Silver back down, if it wasn't for Twilight and the others sticking up for him and coming to a compromise, he would have been a goner for sure. Spike's train of thought was interrupted by footsteps he heard coming closer and closer to the wagon he was still hiding in. Ponies had walked by before earlier in the day, but having everything be so quiet made Spike's heart skip a beat at every clank of the hoof hitting the ground. He wished and hoped it was Twilight coming to get him, if he was discovered now Twilight and the others wouldn't be able to fix the Dragon's Bane spell like the Princess wanted them to.

His fears come true when he heard the hoof steps come to a stop and the guard talk to himself.

"Man, why do we have to do these silly little rounds? By now all those Dragon worshippers are probably eaten anyway, there shouldn't be any of them left for us to fear of an attack." Spike felt the wagon move as the guard leaned against it. His heart began to beat faster and faster, he was sure that if the guard didn't find him, the loud beating of his heart would give him away.

"Maybe I should take a quick nap in this wagon, no one would mind right?" The guard pony climb over the wagon and placed his hoof over the sheets covering it. He was but seconds from pulling it to the side and leaving Spike in plain sight.

"I would mind it quite a bit actually." A cold voice said from the other side of the stable the wagon was being kept at.

"C-captain!" The guard pony jumped down and stood at attention. He began to sweat nervously as Silvercharger walked closer to him.

"Tell me something, do you do this every night? Sneak into the stable and take naps on the carts and wagons we have?" Silver said while what appeared to be with glaring eyes.

"No sir! I was simply wondering why the night rounds if the Dragon worshippers are probably all eaten by now, since they stay to close to dragons and such...uh sir."

"So you think we should ease the patrols?" Silver asked, now mere inches away from his troop. The guard's eyes wanted to avert and look away but he couldn't Silver's gaze intimidated him past his own ability to move. Spike peeked through a crack in the sheets and saw the ordeal taking place, and the only thing going through his head was what Silver has done to keep all his army under such deep rooted intimidation, and whether he should be sacred of him as well.

"Well I cannot deny that we haven't had an infiltration since last year. Perhaps we should relax our patrols. I'll strike you a deal. We shall relax our patrols to more infrequent and with less guards out, if you take night patrol duty for the next six months. All night, every night." No matter what the guard choose it was a lose-lose situation. However, he decided to take a fall for the team, with him taking the offer, his comrades would be spared long night patrols, and so he nodded and Silver signaled he was free to go on his way. Silver stood there watching as the guard walked out to spread the "good" news. Silver remained stationary and without looking back spoke.

"Alright, it's clear. You can come out now." Spike slowly peeked out and looked over at Silver who did not seem to want to look at him. Things were quiet for a while.

"How long?" The grey stallion asked. His cold voice startled Spike, he slowly got out of the wagon and stood moderately close to Silver.

"How long 'till what?"

"Until you have another growth spurt again."

"Oh." The purple dragon scratched his scaled on of top his head. "I don't know. I only have them over night, I'm asleep during that time, so I have no idea when I grow." Silver finally turned back to look at him.

"Did you take a nap while on the wagon?" The series of questions were strange for Spike, but he answered anyway.

"Well, no. I snore so I did my best not to fall asleep or else I might have given myself away. But uh, why?"

"From what I hear, you were a baby dragon for about 9 years. As we have observed here, dragons tend to grow rapidly between the time they are born to about the teenage phase, where they grow at an extremely slow rate. They spend about 100 to 500 years in this phase before taking an initiation into adult hood, which will last for any time around 6000 years before entering the "sage" stage. The great dragon Turin, being the only recorded dragon to reach said stage."

"Umm, alright, so what does any of this have to do with sleeping?" Spike asked still a little lost.

"The teenage stage starts at age of 10 years. The growth experienced by dragons during their childhood happens mostly in their sleep. I am thinking that you are going through an exaggerated version of it, to make up for all the time that had passed while you remained the same."

"But Zacora said dragon's only grow with greed. When they gather and horde things they want."

"Yes, that is how dragon's are suppose to grow. Which is probably the reason you stood at a standstill. However, there has been no record of dragons staying as babies since they all get greedy at some point in their childhood. Your body must be reacting differently since it hasn't gotten its dose of greed."

"So what does this all mean?"

"It means, that your body is going to react to normal dragon stimuli at an exaggerated level. When you sleep, for example, you will grow rapidly. Celestia forbid you start getting greedy right now."

"Been there...done that..."

Silver began to walk to the back of the stable. Spike noticed and followed him. They sneaked out a window and the stallion signaled a stop. They waited for a few seconds before a guard passed by. They allowed for him to pass before continuing on their route. They followed narrow passages, spots that usually Spike would have no trouble getting through, but his new body was being rather hard to adjust to. Plenty of times did Silver have to help pull him out of tight squeezes. Finally, they reached the side of tower the rest of the group was staying at. Silver pulled out two large bricks which gave way for a secret entrance. Spike awed in astonishment at how closely Silver knew about Dragon's Bane. That pony probably knew every nook and cranny of the city, and he could probably spot if a stone was an inch too far gone. Spike and Silver walked through the newly made entrance the stallion sealed it back up behind them.

As they continue to walked through the cob web infested hall, Spike felt a little awkward next to Silver. Before long, he tried to break the ice.

"So...you're captain of the guard here? Twilight's brother is captain of the guard back in Canterlot."

"Really now? I'd like to meet him. He could use some pointers." Spike sweated a little and gave out a faint nervous chuckle.

"I do not wish to come off as rude...Spike. But perhaps you shouldn't sleep tonight." Spike expression changed as he saw Silver's face. "If you only get growth spurts while you sleep, than you shouldn't grow at all until you do."

Spike looked down at his hands suddenly the image of Bloomingstar's scared face came to mind, he definitely didn't want to scare anyone else. So he nodded and agreed. Spike had his mind set on finding who he truly was while here, and getting bigger and bigger wouldn't make things easier for anypony.

Finally, they came to their destination. The hall ended at a wall, Spike looked confused as he saw the dead end, but Silver continued to walk until was face to face wall. He stared at it for a few minutes and the purple dragon observed. He was sure he was about to do something awesome, like open another secret passage way.

"Opps, we came the wrong way. We're lost." Silver said with his indifferent expression. Spike's mouth gapped open and screamed out.

"WHAT!? But you seemed so confident about the way you were navigating the maze back there!"

Silver turned 180 degrees and started to walk back. "Yes, but I have only taken this route once, and it was with a map. Not to mention I was engaged in conversation with you. Now, let's head back and see where we took a wrong turn." Spike wasn't sure how to react. The fact that Silver considered their few exchange of lines plus the long while in silence as they walked "an engaging conversation" kind of made him want to laugh, but he head back, lest he offended the one pony most capable of killing him. Spike just sighed and continued walk along side Silver, who's facial expression was still as indifferent as ever.

* * *

Author's Note:So I finally got around to finishing all of MLP from start to finish, I wasn't aware that Spike had an episode where he grew when I first began to write this, so I tried my best to incorporate it into my story as best I could. However, Season 4 goes into more detail about where the elements f harmony came from, tossing my 'head canon' out the window. For the sake of the story, I will proceed without mentioning the season 3 finale and anything that follows it, which might be bothersome for some readers, I apologize for it.

Please let me know if you guys would like me to revise my story thus far and change it to fit the main canon more closely, or if to proceed without them in mind like I had originally planned to.


	9. A quiet night

Auhtor's note: I decided to carry on with the story. It IS a fanfiction after all, I can bend the main story plot slightly. I wouldn't be the first, after all, I already put some thought as to where the story was headed, and it would be a shame to not finish it.

* * *

The sound of the hooves of two ponies echoed through the long halls of Dragon's Bane's castle. While one seemed up and happy, the other set of hooves lagged behind. Twilight, the tired pony, stretched her neck back and a loud set of pops followed. Blooming start giggled at her purple friend as she slowly caught up.

"How can you be so peppy? We just spent hours hunched over looking at that pentagram."

"Oh, I'm used to it. When I was a filly I spent all day in there trying to understand the writing."

"And by the looks of it you succeeded, too bad we don't have years for me to fully understand the dragon's tongue." Twilight followed her yellow friend and soon they arrived at a room, the place they would be staying at while they visited Dragon's Bane. It was Bloom's bedroom, actually, it was one of the only rooms in the castle that could be called a bedroom. Bloom had told Twilight and the others earlier about how basically everyone in Dragon's Bane stayed at the barracks or in houses within the walls. Only the royal family who could use Dragon's Bane had a room for themselves in the castle itself. As she had instructed, her room now had 3 more beds, one for each of her friends while they stayed in the city.

"If you'd like, we could visit the library we have for references." At that moment Twilight's eyes sparkled, as she looked over at Bloom, who was a little freaked out to say the least.

"Oh my Gosh! You have a library!? Why didn't you say so earlier? I LOVE reading!" Twilight carried on into a rant of sorts explaining why books were so important while hugging Bloom, who was sweating nervously.

"Could ya'll keep it down?" Groaned an orange pony from one of the extra beds. Both unicorns looked over at Applejack who was slumped over her bed, with barely the strength to talk.

"A-Are you alright Applejack?" Twilight asked a little hesitantly. She moved closer to her friend who was face down on the mattress.

"Eyup...I told Silver to walk me through one of the training routines for the soldiers. I wanted to prove I had a spot that army of his while we stayed. It was my mistake to tell him not to take it easy on me cause I was used to physical labor." Bloom laughed nervously, had she known this was happening earlier, she would have intervened, no pony has ever fully coped with Silver's "training program" on the first day.

"Oh...that stallion just doesn't know the meaning of refrain." The yellow unicorn said as she gazed over at Twilight trying to comfort the earth pony in her distress of aches and pains that were already starting to set in.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Rainbowdash flew quickly down a hall way. She appeared panicked as she looked around the long narrow corridor. Finally, she came to a fork in the halls.

"Oh, which way should I go?" She asked herself as she looked back and forth between both paths. She had been in this predicament dozens of times already. Ever since she flew off after Twilight and Bloom started working on the Dragon's Bane she had been flying endlessly. Somehow she was sure she had already been down this hall, but they all look the same, no noticeable differences anywhere to be found.

"Umm, maybe this...way?" She said softly as she began to doubt her choice. She shook her head and recomposed herself as she made a choice and flew by as fast as she could. Again she went down a corridor that was long and with twists and turns. Usually she could navigate pretty well, but all the sharp turns of the hall was disorienting, she couldn't even tell where north or south was anymore. As her wings grew more and more tired, she began to slow down again. She had already walked when her stamina gave out earlier, and this was frustrating her even more. Ahead of her, one of the walls moved and slide open like a door, she was flying so fast at the moment she didn't have time t react and crashed head first into it.

"See? I told you I'd find the way just fine."

"Yeah, but you lead us into 3 dead ends." Silver and Spike walked out from the newly made door. The walls shut once more and there was Rainbowdash, suspended in midair for a second before finally falling down. Spike looked over at his friend and laughed.

"Rainbowdash, are y- are you alright?" He asked between his laughing fit. The blue pegasus shook her head and stood up.

"What the hay? Where did you guys come from?!" She asked, irritation showing on her face.

"I just went to pick up Spike from the wagon, we used a secret passage to get inside without anyone seeing him." Rainbowdash rubbed her head and looked over at Silver who she was expecting to laugh at her just like Spike.

"Well? Aren't you gonna laugh?" She asked. Silver raised an eyebrow and replied.

"Why would I laugh? Come now everypony...and dragon. Now that we're in the halls of the castle I know the way for certain." Silver went began to walk and Spike followed. For some reason, Rainbowdash was more irritated at Silver for not laughing than she would have been had her at least have smirked. His entire presence just made her angry, but she was lost, and had no choice by to follow.

* * *

"...AND THEN we sparred. Can you believe it?! After all that work out, we were finally got the "meat" of the training he said." Ranted out Applejack from her bed as Twilight and Bloom sat listening. Bloom had heard how brutal Silver's trainings were, but she didn't really know they were that intense, its no wonder she never sees new recruits until a week or so in.

"That seems a little harsh AJ, are you sure Silver said it was the intermediate training?" Asked a nervous sweating Twilight. Applejack nodded and slumped back down to rest her neck. Bloom giggled slightly and stood up to open a window. The wind rushed in and blew her mane back. She stared out to the moon which was starting to come out.

"I noticed the moon doesn't have that shadow of a mare anymore." Bloom said from as she continued to stare out into the night sky.

"Didn't I tell you? The mare in the moon was Nightmaremoon, whom we turned back into Princess Luna." Twilight said as she walked over to Bloom.

"Oh, so it was Princess Luna? I guess that explains why news of her return came around the same time the shadow disappeared. I'm quite envious of you Twilight, you have been able to do so many things in your life. Fighting Nightmaremoon, The Spirit of Chaos, and even King Sombra. And here I am, not able to do the only thing I am suppose to do, and activate Dragon's Bane." Bloom laid her head on her hooves as she leaned on the window frame. Twilight walked close and put her arm around her to get her attention.

"Chin up, we'll figure it out together."

"Yeah sugarcube, Twilight didn't do all of those things on her own. She had all her friends there to hep her out." Applejack said from her bed.

"Applejack is right, I could have never done any of the things I did if it wasn't for the friendship I shared with everyone around me." Bloom smiled back at Twilight and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could utter a words, the door slammed open.

"Twilight!" Called out Spike from the door way. The purple unicorn smiled at him and ran over to hug him.

"Oh Spike! I was so worried about you." As they hugged Silver and Rainbowdash walked in, the pegasus glaring at Silver who choose to ignore it.

"Good, so everyone found their way here" Bloom said with a smile. "Though I expected you to get here before us actually."

"Well we would have had Silver not gotten us lost along the way." Spike whined from behind Silver, who felt himself pierced by his words, his face didn't show it, but his ear twitched, and Bloom knew very well what that meant.

"Oh really now? I thought you didn't need a map" Teased Bloom. Silver's ear twitched again, which made her giggle.

"...If there is nothing else, I will retire to the barracks." Said Silver after a small pause. Everyone in the room laughed Bloom nodded to his request. Silver left the room, though he stopped the door from fully closing with his back hoof.

"Oh, and I expect you up by dawn tomorrow Applejack." He said before shutting the door. Applejack sweated slightly.

"You betcha..." She said softly before falling on her bed again. Spike stood up and looked over at Bloom.

"I thought Silver wasn't capable of making mistakes." Bloom smiled and responded.

"Oh, actually he's pretty clumsy with things. He just works extra hard to give off that image of a strong perfect leader and soldier." Bloom climbed into her bed and continued talking.

"Actually, he became Captain of the guard by chance." Everyone looked shocked.

"How exactly does somepony become a captain by chance?" Bloom giggled once more and began her story.

"The city was attacked by a lone dragon. The previous Captain lead the fight. It was an adult dragon, they are significantly larger than the teenage stage dragons that normally try to breach because o their curiosity. The fight resulted in the captain's death and the squad he lead. Silver was stationed at one of the walls towers. He had the bright idea of jumping onto the dragon that flew by. Somehow, he was able to hang on and slowly wear the dragon down by steering it onto cliffs and trees."

"How'd he steer a giant dragon?" Asked Raibowdash who loved action stories like this one. She had completely over looked the fact it was about Silver and was getting excited.

"While on the dragon, he climbed his way to the head and kicked at the eyes, when the dragon flinched, it would turn its flying path on the other direction of the eye that got hurt by reflex. Every time the dragon reached for Silver he would jump around onto the arms and just frustrate the dragon. Silver, if nothing else, is agile, so he was able to steer clear of its grip. Of course, the dragon wasn't standing still as he fought off Silver's pestering and was easier to for him to direct it into cliffs. Over time, the dragon gave itself a concussion. The unicorns of Dragon's Bane used a teleportation spell to teleport it back into the middle of the dragon's territory. So if the captain hadn't perished and Silver wasn't in the tower at that moment, he wouldn't have been able to climb up the ranks and looked up to. He confessed to me later that he had no idea what he was doing while on the dragon's head" She giggled at her last statement.

"So wait, you didn't kill it?" Applejack asked from her bed. "I mean, it's not like I want ya'll to kill dragons or anything, but it sounded like you all were dragon slayers."

"Oh no, we can't kill dragons. Well we can, but we shouldn't. Dragons are a proud and powerful race. it's been a thousand years of them having a grudge against pony kind, but they don't see us as a threat, it's the only reason they haven't started a war against us. If they fought all out against us, we'd all be goners. So all we are allowed to do is send them back into their territory, lest we anger them and start a war we can't win."

"But ya'll have Dragon's Bane."

"Had...unfortunately, I can't activate it, it's a tradition for a descendent of Blazingstar to be the one to use Dragon's Bane to push back the dragons, but I just can't seem to activate it."

"I don't mean to be rude, but why can't some pony else try activating Dragon's Bane?" Raibowdash asked, looking a little puzzled.

"Because no pony else knows how. All the star decedents usually activate Dragon's Bane instinctively, I was supposed to do the same, but I can't seem to do it."

"But it's our job to help you do so." Twilight added. "You needn't worry Bloom, we'll figure it out somehow." She said with a smile.

"I just hope we're not attacked by a swarm mean while, we wouldn't be able to stand a massive attack." Bloom said a little worried.

"Ya'll just need to concentrate on finding a solution, Rainbow and I will help Silver if it comes to that." Bloom felt a little reassure by Applejack. All the while, Spike looked a little gloomy. Being a dragon meant he couldn't help out.

It took a while for everypony to calm down and finally go to sleep. Spike, who was laying next to Twilight, sat up and looked out the open window. The moon reflected in his cat like eyes. He stood and walked over to it. Leaning on his elbows, he glanced around to make sure there wasn't anyone around to see him from the window. Since Silver had given the order to have less guards out, Spike could barely see any pony making rounds. He did manage to see Silver out, he was in the sparring field, praticing his moves no less.

"Is this what Bloom said about having to work extra hard?" Spike said as he saw Silver trip during one of his kicks. He got back up and began again. No doubt he wasn't going to stop until he couldn't mess up.

"When does he find the time to sleep?" It was then he remember what Silver said about his growth spurts. Spike around at himself and looked a little gloomy. "I-I can't grow anymore. If I do I won't be able to hide." He made up his mind. He was to stay awake all night for as long as he could, weeks if he had to. Just long enough for Twilight and Bloom to figure out how to activate Dragon's Bane. Spike spread his wings and flew out, he was careful not to let his shadow get anywhere close to any of the guards. He softly landed in the sparring arena where Silver was practicing.

"What are you doing here?" Silver asked without looking over. He had heard his land and made out that it was Spike.

"I won't go to sleep, so I don't grow." Silver stopped and decided to look over at this dragon.

"That's nice and all, but why are you here specifically? You'll be caught if you're not careful, it'll be counterproductive to be out in plain view.

"I..was wondering if I could train along with you." Spike said a little hesitantly. Silver raised and eye brow to this. He gave it some thought. Spike dug at the ground with his foot as he waited for a response.

"Alright. If I'm with you, I can make sure you're not caught and I'll have a sparring partner, one that can balance on two legs." Spike's face brightened up and he ran over to Silver who gestured him to come over.

"Let's get started shall we?"


	10. Calm before the storm

Dawn began to come, the sun slowly rose over the cold black night and the Bloom's window began to peer light into her room. Spike, who had spent all night sparring with Silver slowly and wearily flew into the window. He gently made his way to the bed he and Twilight were sharing. The dragon barely had time to get under the covers when a loud bell rung through our Dragon's Bane. The ringing abruptly awoke Twilight and her friends, who all proceeded to fall out of their beds.

"In Celestia's name...What was that?" Rainbowdash said slowly as she stood up and saw everyone do the same. Bloom, on the other hoof, had managed to stay in bed. She cutely sat up and stretched her arms out.

"Oh, good morning everypony, I see the bell woke you all." Everyone sweated at how Bloom reacted to the same situation they had gone through, it was obvious this was a normal day for her. Everyone, wide awake now, proceed to make their beds and get on with their day. Silver had come by to get Applejack and Rainbowdash, who wanted to take part of his "training routine." As they all left to the mess hall, Twilight noticed Spike's weary eyes.

"Are you alright Spike? You seem really tired."

"Oh...it's nothing Twilight, just couldn't sleep last night is all." Under his breath he muttered to himself. "Yeah, Silver made sure to slap me awake if I so much as dozed off a little lastnight..." Spike followed the group through the corridors, as Silver had instructed the day before, Spike would be free to roam through the secret passages of the castle to his leisure, it would give him something to do while everyone carried on their business.

"So where is this library?" Twilight asked from behind Bloom who was leading them to the mess hall.

"It's on the 3rd floor, if you want to hurry ahead, you can take this corridor here, take it two floors down, take a left, go straight, another staircase up and then a right. After you hit a dead end you-"

"I think I'm good..." The purple unicorn interrupted. Bloom gave her a smile and they carried on. They left the castle and entered a long building, as Twilight had guessed, it was where they get some breakfast. They got in line for the food and instantly the soldiers took notice of the duo.

"Oh Miss Bloom, you can go on ahead of me if you'd like."

"Me too, I can wait awhile longer." Another one said. Instantly Bloom began to retreat as they all began to pull her and Twilight towards the front. They proceeded to gather their breakfast and quickly made their way back out. It was very lucky that both of them were unicorns, had it been different they would have had no choice but to stay in the mess hall to eat.

"I'm sorry Twilight, this happens every day."

"Don't like when they do you favors?"

"I found it nice the first few times, but now I feel a little awkward when they do. I do not like to have ponies drench me with special treatment, especially when I cannot do the only thing I should be good for." Twilight looked at how Bloom's expression quickly changed. It was strange to see just how quick Bloom's mod changed from happy to sad and vice versa. She shrugged it off and they walked together to the library where they would eat and study up.

* * *

Silver walked back and forth in fornt of ponies who were lined up. He was giving his morning lecture. Rainbowdash, who was in the rows, yawned from how much Silver was talking.

"Ranbowdash, it seems I am boring you. How about we put your hooves to work then?" Silver said as he walked by the blue pegasus, who immediately was about to retort but had a hoof stop her from talking.

"Silver, she didn't men nun' by it." Applejack spoke up trying to get her friend out of the deep trouble she herself had dug into just the day before.

"Ah Applejack, it seems you wish to join your friend. Now the both of you shall start with a simple warm up. How to the field and run 25 laps around Dragon's Bane."

"Now hold up!" Began Rainbowdash. "You're always barking out orders to the rest of us but you don't seem to any work around here yourself, why don't you show us just how much of a big shot your really are?" Everypony gasped as they all heard her speak in disbelief. No pony had ever spoken back to Silver with such arrogance before, they wall sweated as they stood at attention, not wanting to make a peep less they too be sent into the punishment group.

"Make that 50." Silver said as he began to walk away. "Now everyone, do the usual routine, I am sure you know it by heart. Don't let me catch you slacking off. The rest of the soldiers walked off to do their usual warm up and then their practice. Rainbowdash whipped her tail as she saw how obediently the others did as Silver had asked. It annoyed her even more when she saw Applejack follow Silver out of the walls of Dragon's Bane.

"Wait what?" The pegasus looked confused as Silver walked next to Applejack.

"Hurry along Rainbowdash, as part of your punishment, I'll continue the lecture as I run along side you those 50 laps." Ranbowdash couldn't help but smirk as Silver actually began to live up the all the hype made about him.

From a crack in the castle wall, Spike looked over at the city. He had explored out the secret corridors, but that had soon lost the excitement. He saw how much everyone was at work, and it only made him even more tired. He looked around at the old corridors he was allowed to stretch his legs in while everyone did their thing. He sure wasn't used to this much free time, Twilight certainly made sure of that, working his claw and quill tirelessly every day with her lists and letters. However, it seemed the opposite extreme was no better.

Spike yawned as he walked. He knew that Silver told him to keep from sleeping if he could, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep it up, it was just the first day and he could already feel his eyelids shut on their own. Just how much more would he grow if he did sleep? As large as the teen dragon since he was technically at that age, or as large as when he did on his birthday a few years back. It was hard to tell. His train of thought was interrupted by a small squeak. The purple dragon turned to see a rat sniffing the ground further down the corridor. Spike paused, he got down on all fours and prepared to pounce. His cat like pupil thinned as he jumped forward.

* * *

"Twilight slumped her head on the table she and Bloom occupying. She usually liked to read, but Bloom's books had such a strange vocabulary it only made her head hurt. Then a loud thud made the purple unicorn lift her head.

"And here's the second batch." Said Bloom as she placed even more books on the table. Twilight groaned to which the other unicorn giggled.

"No many books?"

"I never thought I of all ponies would say that, but yes...too many books." Bloom took a seat next to Twilight and opened one herself.

"I've read all of them myself, they all talk of dragons, some were written here from data we collected, but most of it is interpretation. Funny, how no one bothered to write down how to activate Dragon's Bane." Twilight continued to read from where she left off, it was one of the books Bloom had just talked about, one of the city's observations.

"A dragon's diet is carnivorous, with the exception of its youth where it will eats plant life..." Twilight read out loud. "Thank goodness Spike had been a baby dragon so long, he would have a hard time finding food in Ponyville otherwise." It was then she suddenly stood up.

"Spike!" Twilight's loud voice startled Bloom who looked over at her friend.

"I-Is everything alright?"

"Spike hasn't eaten anything since yesterday!" Twilight said as she grabbed the plate he had gotten from the mess hall earlier. "I had been so busy with this that I forgot to feed him. Oh he's probably starving." Twilight quickly ran out and headed to the secret passages everyone had told Spike to stay in. It didn't take long for her to get to the secret entrance along with a plate of food.

"Spike? Spike are you here?" Twilight said as she walked around the corridors filled with dust and cobwebs.

"Twi-Twilight?" Spike said hesitantly as he poked his head from around a corner. The purple unicorn smiled and walked closer.

"Spike! I'm sorry I forgot you hadn't eaten anything, I brought you some food from the mess hall." She said with a smile. Spike come all the way out of hiding and took the plate that she was handing him. With a forced smile he said.

"Why thank you Twilight." They stood at a pause for a second there before Twilight awkwardly spoke.

"Something wrong? Usually you would chow down when you go without eating for only half a day."

"Oh, right, yeah!" Spike opened his mouth and took a bite of the carefully picked vegetation Twilight had gotten for breakfast. It was then Twilight noticed just how sharp his teeth had gotten since last time. She played it off as something he got from a growth spurt. Spike forced himself to pass down the 'food' he had placed in his mouth. Feeling accomplished Twilight began to turn.

"Well, I got some studying to do, I'll catch up with you later Spike." She turned and trotted off, Spike waving at her. When she was out of sight he spit out what had remained in his mouth and placed the plate down. He walked back to where he was and looked at the pill of rats in shame.

"I don't know what happened." He murmured to himself. When he saw that rat earlier crawl around he suddenly remembered how hungry he was, catching one and taking a bite out of it made him more hungry, before he knew it he had chomped through a dozen of them. He didn't know what to do with himself anymore.

* * *

Gasping for air, Rainbowdash slowly walked behind Silver who had slow down enough for her to keep up with him.

"And lastly, I would like to remind you to keep vigilant, for even through there are no immidiate threats, a dragon could begin to wander by at any moment." Silver concluded his morning and turned to see his tired friend who was more than fed up with the sound of his voice, which only urged him to poke at her more. "Any questions?"

"Just...one..." Rainbowdash said as she slumped down to the ground. "How many more laps?..." Silver looks ahead and saw the front gate just a few meters from where they were.

"Once you reach the gates, you'll only need 38 laps around the city." Rainbowdash, already annoyed by the ordeal, just could not stand the tone of indifference he had anymore.

"And why are YOU not tired?"

"Oh please, this is morning routine for me." Silver said as he yawned. He was, however, sleepy from staying up all night with Spike, but the pegasus took the yawn as him looking down on her.

"If you'd just let me use my wings I'd been done by now!" She said as she stood up to face Silver up close. However, he wasn't looking at Rainbowdash, he was more concerned with the orange pony trotting along to where they were.

"Well, it looks like your friend will be done in a few seconds." Applejack jogged passed them and made ti to the gates where she proceeded to fall on the ground catching her breath. "You should take some pointers from her." He said before starting a slow run to where Applejack was. Having had Applejack as her rival for years, this really rubbed her the wrong way.

"Why you, listen here-" However, Rainbowdash was cut by a sudden roar that shook the ground. Everyone remained still as they all gazed up to see a large red dragon fly overhead. Without a moment's hesitation Silver ran in through gates just as the bell rung, setting all the ponies in alarm to the threat lingering over them. Rainbowdash and AJ followed in behind the dark stallion. The sentries around the walls began to load their large crossbows with nets and fired off, trying to catch and center the dragon who had proceeded to set the city ablaze. Through the crack in the wall, Spike watched as the city was terrorized. His hands became sweaty and his pupils thinned. He placed his claws through the crack and pulled it apart, allowing him to fit through. He took flight.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry I haven't updated in a while, Final's week came by followed by a stressful week, I believe things should pick up as far as updates go.


	11. A Dark Day

SilverCharger ran through the hectic streets of his home city. The dragon overhead spat fire as it glided by, to it they were nothing more than ants to play with as he pleased. Ponies left and right ran away from the flames. One of them, however, tripped and fell as a nearby wall began t collapse. Silver dashed by and grabbed the little filly by the nape, throwing him on top of him. Silver ran towards whom he identified as his parents and handed him over to them.

"Go now, the guards will handle the situation." He commanded, they did not dispute him and fled. From behind him came Applejack and Ranbowdash.

"What's the plan?" Applejack asked as she looked up at the dragon which was circling the sky above them.

"See the sentries? They will do their best to slow the dragon down, once he becomes immobile the unicorns will use their spell to send it back home." Silver said, his cold voice barely peering over the screams around them.

"What about everyone else?" Rainbowdash asked as she saw the burnings burn around them.

"The other guards shall see to their safety." Silver said as he began to walk forward. He noticed his blue friend stare at the houses and buildings. "Do not worry, the buildings here are made of stone for a reason, they will not burn down quite that easily." He said with a half smile. A guard came running towards them, Applejack noticed it was the same one that Silver had demoted the day they entered the city.

"Captain sir! Near 50 percent of the villagers have made it to the underground safe house." He said as he tried to catch his breath. Silver patted him on the shoulder and dismissed him before turning to his friends.

"I assume you still want to help as part of the army?" He asked

"You betcha!" Applejack exclaimed as Rainbowdash flew quickly around them.

"Enough with the honorary stuff, what should we do?" the blue pegasus was clearly itching to get into the action. Silver nodded to them and began to give his instructions.

"Alright then. Applejack, you shall join the city guard and help get all the villagers to the safe house."

"I'll have it done lickety split." She said before running off over some rubble.

"And you Rainbowdash, join the other pegasi who should be forming rank as we speak, you all will be trying to corral the dragon in the city, if it gets out the havoc it will bring to ponyfolk will be devastating."

"Don't you worry tall, dark and gruesome, if that dragon tries to leave I'll send him flying back with its tail between its legs." She said before dashing off. Silver stood there a moment and looked around, when she saw that he was alone he walked close to a wall and leaned on it. His knees were about to give in. Silver looked to his side and saw his reflection on a broken glass nearby. In that reflection he saw how his eye was hidden away and slowly he raised a hoof to pull the hair away. Truth be told, the day he got the scar, he became terrified of dragon's so much so just thinking about the red dragon rampaging he could feel his knees buckle.

Silver clenched his teeth at how weak he looked, this was definitely a of him he did not want anyone to know about. The dark stallion shock his head and stood up strong, determination back in his eye, he ran over the flames and into the fight.

* * *

Bloom ran to the window as she heard the roars echo over the city, Twilight was close behind and they both gasped as the sight of flames scorching the small buildings down below.

"We have to get to Dragon's Bane." Bloom said as she turned around to grab some books she had on the desk. Twilight's mane was pushed back as the pegasi scouts flew close by the window. They were trying to intercept the red dragon which had gotten bored from the mayhem it caused. The purple unicorn saw how they flew close to the large dragon's wings to throw off the wind currents that were vital for the large reptile to get over the tall walls of the city.

"Do you think you can use it now?" Twilight asked as she joined Bloom in gathering some books that they were readying only moments before.

"I'm not sure, but I've got to try." They got what they could carry and ran out to the chamber from the day before, oblivious to the unicorns, Spike flew by the window down to the city streets. He wasn't sure what he was doing, but when saw that dragon, a strange feeling awoke inside of him. It was different from the herd that he formed part of a few years ago. It was like some dormant instinct within him. He hit the ground with full force, landing on all fours. Not far from where he was, two guards ran to a nearby house. It was in flames and screams could be heard from inside, however the door had a debris in front of it and they couldn't seem to get it out of the way. Spike flapped his wings and flew in through a window and stepped on the burning ground. The heat didn't seem to bother him at all, which didn't surprise him, after all, he had taken a swim in lava before.

"H-Hello?" Spike said hesitantly into the smoke filled house.

"Help! Help us!" Somepony screamed from around the corner. The purple dragon moved some fallen wooden pillars from the way with ease to his surprise. It seems his physical strength had also improved through his growth spurts. He finally made it to where the screams were coming from, however, he wasn't sure of HOW he could help, after all, they would only run from him since he's a dragon. He didn't have ample time to think of a plan so he did what he could instead. With his new acquired strength he cleared the way to a window before finally making some headway to the trapped ponies. With his claw's he broke through the only wall between him and them.

"Oh by Celestia's name, thank you!" The ponies said as they climbed through the hole in the wall, however, they didn't see anypony. All that stood infront of them was a path to an open window, with the wind blowing the window's door back and forth. They didn't question it, they just took the chance to get out. They were greeted by guards who seemed to have been looking for something. Spike watched from up above as the ponies made it out safely. He gave out a sigh of relief, but was quickly brought back to reality by the roar of the dragon. Again, his pupils thinned when his ears heard the loud roar echo around.

* * *

Rainbowdash made it to the top of the walls to see somepony give out orders to platoons of pegasi.

"The dragon is getting more and more agitated, it will without a doubt start to get more agressive against use pegasi. We need to be more cautious!" Another pegasus barked from before the pony who seemed in charge.

"You know very well what's at stake if we fail and everyone knew the risks when they signed up. We Cannot allow it to get back out of the city." The chief said as he saw the red dragon breath fire at the squad that were messing with his wings trying to steady him for the sentry bows.

Rainbowdash looked over at ht other pegasi fall, their wings too scorched to fly anymore. It was then she began to feel a little queasy at her stomach. She gulped as her wings folded into place, fearing that the same fate would befall her. Applejack, who was on the roof trying to make a path into a house from above, saw the pegasi fall from above her. She looked around and saw rope ponies were using for drying out clothes, without a second thought, she ran for it and used it as a lasso from back home. She quickly started to spin the rope over her head as she took aim, though there was no way she could save all three of the pegasi falling, she could definitely save at least one. She made a quick judgment and threw the rope over to the one pony she was closest to, which was also the one closest to the ground. The lasso made it around the torso of the pony and she pulled on it. Her strength was just enough to make the pony change directions and was now flying towards the orange pony. Applejack caught the pegasi and watch as the other two still fell to their doom.

Seeing her friend perform such feats brought some bravado back to Rainbowdash. She held a valiant expression and raised her wings. The chief behind her took a notice of her just before she took flight. The force behind her first wing thrust pushed ponies back and the cheif looked in awe as Rainbowdash left a rainbow colored trail behind her. She continued to gain speed as she made her way to where the falling pegasi were. Her eyes watered as the wind resistance pushed against her magenta eyes. She extented her hooves out and caught the last two pegasi just before they made contact with the ground and flew them to where Applejack was.

"Woo-wee Rainbowdash, you made it just in time." AJ said as she tended to the pony she had lassoed. Rainbowdash held a look of concern at the scorn wings of the pegasi and asked.

"Think they'll ever fly again?"

"Not too sure, but I betcha' they'll at least be glad they're alive."

* * *

Silver ran at full speed towards one of the sentry towers. He planned to man one of the bows and add to the chance of hitting the dragon. As he got close to the door way, the dragon flew over head. As if it knew what he was thinking, it blew fire into the entrance and closed it off. Silver looked around and saw a manual lift soldiers used to get ammo to the top of the wall in a hurry. It had a crate already at the top and an idea popped into his head. Silver ran to the lift and bit the rope that was holding the crate up there. He kept a tight grip on it and kicked the level they used to manually pull the rope. His hoof broke it and the crate fell, carrying Silver all the way up to the top. He let go as he neared the top and stepped onto the wall. His sudden entrance startled some soldiers but Silver walked right up to a cross bow as if nothing had happened.

"Soldier, remind me to add more manual lifts to other parts of the wall." Silver said as he manned the cross bow and took aim. He shot the first net at the dragon who seemed to had eyes on the back of his head. It quickly turned and scorched the net, neutralizing it. The dragon and Silver made eye contact and their gaze didn't break for a good minute.

"Soldier." Silver said with a stoic tone. "Load another net."

* * *

Bloom and Twilight made it to the chamber of Dragon's Bane. Both of them looked a little exhausted from running and they dropped their books on the floor. Gasping, they walked over to the pentagram.

"All the 'stars' of my family have always stood at the center when they activate Dragon's Bane." Bloom said as she made her way to the center circle to stand where s many ponies before her had.

"Have you figured out what you need to do?" Twilight said as she used magic to lift a book to her eye level to read some more. She glanced back and forth between the book and the writing on the pentagram.

"No, but I've got to do something..." Bloom said as she closed her eyes. Her horn began to glow and the pentagram lit up in turn. The five altars at each edge of the pentagram seem to shake. Bloom had never noticed this since she always closed her eyes when she struggled to activate Dragon's Bane. Twilight looked in wonder as the whole chamber was illuminated by Bloom's light. The walls shook as something was about to be set into motion, but Bloom's strength gave out and she collapse, dimming pentagram until the light completely faded. Twilight rushed to her friend's side who smashed her hoof on the ground, angry and frustrated with herself.

"Why?..." Blooms asked as her eyes watered. "Why can't I use Dragon's Bane?..." Twilight wasn't sure how to comfort her friend as she saw her breakdown in front of her. She herself didn't know what to do now.

* * *

Silver took yet another shot at the dragon who evaded it. Even Silver began to show some frustration as he ordered another reload for his bow.

"This is the last net sir." The soldier next to him said.

"Well I guess I'll have to make it count." The dark stallion said as he took a tight grip on the large cross bow. He squinted and took aim yet again, but hesitated to take a shot, after all, none of the others had worked before, even when the dragon looked in the other direction. It was then Silver noticed a small projectile make its way towards the dragon, but upon a closer look, it wasn't a net. It was...Spike?

Spike flew as fast as he could up towards the red dragon, and though he paled in comparison in terms of size, he had some strange confidence. With a roar of his own, Spike used his claw to trace along the side of the dragon, wounding it slightly. The red dragon groaned out and faced his small opponent. It gasped for air and exhaled a scorching flame that even Spike could barely take. Burned, Spike began to descend a few meters downward, but was caught by Rainbowdash who helped him get stabilized in the air again.

"You ok Spike?" She asked as she saw him shake his head to recompose himself.

"Yeah..." He said as he grabbed his head. "I will be as soon as we stop him." Rainbowdash caught a small glimpse of Spike's eyes. It gave her a weird feeling, but she brushed it off. Spike flew back up and sped by the dragon, again landing a long claw strike as he came by it. What he lacked in fire power he made up in mobility. The dragon took aim at Spike again but its aim was thrown off when Rainbowdash kicked it on the jaw, just barely missing Spike. The blue pegasus and dragon alternated between landing hits and watching each other's back and the dragon grew more and more frustrated. Gotten fed up, it decided to simply shot flames everywhere around him. Both Rainbowdash and Spike did their best to avoid the flames but they could no longer get close to it to attack.

Silver still kept his aim on the dragon but didn't take the shot. He wasn't sure it would hit and he wouldn't waste it unless there was a 100 percent chance it would hit. Applejack had made it to Silver's location and said.

"We managed to get all the villagers out." Silver didn't break concentration and simply responded with nod. Applejack looked over at the fight and started to wish she too could fly. Silver wanted to take the shot plenty of times over, but he had an itching feeling the dragon would just burn it like before. It was at this moment that he came up with an idea.

"Say." He began. "What's your outlook on stupid plans?" Applejack was a little surprise by the question, but she smiled and responded.

"I think they work more often than they autta'."

Rainbowdash had flown circles around the dragon, but even after the long fight it seemed like they were barely making a dent on it. Caught a little off guard, she come to halt when a wall of flames blocked her path. Before she knew it she was surrounded by fire and her fear of scorched wings grew ever closer. Panicked, she looked around to see if she could find a way out. She saw a small opening and she went for it. Her wings had never carried her so fast before, but just as she went through the opening she came face to face with the dragon who had its mouth open, ready to fire. Rainbowdash froze in both shock and fear. She could see the flame rise up from the dragon's throat and her eyes reflected the bright flames. It was then Spike flew and positioned himself in front of his pegasus friend. He used his own body as a shield to keep the scorching flames off of Rainbowdash. Spike could feel his scales start to break and his eyes squinted in both strain and pain. He himself took a deep breath and shot out a flame of his own. His fire, unlike the dragon's, was green, and it had a different composition. It was somehow able to pierce through the dragon's flame and wounded the dragon from the inside. The red dragon grabbed it's neck and chest as it shook in pain. Spike was unable to fly and fell, Rainbowdash flew down and caught her friend and just in time.

Silver had used RD and Spike as cover to hide the net he fired which was heading straight towards the stunned dragon. As if by some miracle, the dragon regained its composure and slapped the net away with its tail and glanced over at Silver, but to his surprise, Applejack manned the cross bow. Silver was actually on the dragon's tail. He had gotten Applejack to not only shot the net, but him along with it. The moment the dragon had slapped the net, Silver had grabbed on. The dragon was still internally scorned and was oblivious to Silver climbing up his back. He had a knife in his mouth and once he reached the dragon's shoulder blades he jumped and stabbed the knife into the wing. He slid across it and cut a huge hole in the dragon's wing. The dragon shrieked in anguish and fell down along with Silver.

Silver had a blank look on his face, he had not thought his plan all the way through. Spike, who was in Rainbowdash's arms saw Silver fall along with the dragon and broke free of the pegasus' embrace. He flapped his wings as much as he could and made his way to the free falling stallion. The unicorns who had been in stand by rushed out. They didn't want the dragon to hit the ground so they began to cast their spell. Spike had barely gotten a hold of Silver when the unicorns fired their return spell. It hit the falling dragon but Silver and Spike were caught in it as well. In a flash the all disappeared and the city became silent and still. All stood quiet and shocked, what were they to do now?


End file.
